Wildcats had 8-0 advantage in corner kicks
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University (NMU) women’s soccer team fell on the road to the Davenport (DU) Panthers by a narrow margin of 1-0 on a rainy Sunday afternoon in Grand Rapids.
The Wildcats were dominant statistically throughout the game, outshooting the Panthers 18-3, including an 8-2 difference in shots on goal, but the play of DU goaltender Elizabeth Wolter proved to be the difference, saving all eight shots that she faced to maintain the clean sheet. NMU also managed to earn eight corner kick opportunities while the Panthers had none on the day.
DU’s Claire Breault slotted home the lone goal of the contest in the 80th minute off of a lob pass into the box from Madelyn Schamanek.
How it Happened
Both teams battled throughout the opening half, but it was the Wildcats that came out swinging, applying plenty of pressure on the Panther defense on a rainy afternoon in Grand Rapids.
The Wildcats kept their feet on the accelerator, but Davenport’s defense proved to be quite stingy, resulting in near misses by Madison Bilbia and Addison Frantti, and DU goaltender, Elizabeth Wolter, fended off all four shots on net through the first 45 minutes, including a powerful strike from Alyse Daavettila and a deflected shot by Bilbia that was narrowly punched just over the crossbar by Wolter.
The Wildcats would challenge the Panthers’ defense again late in the half with a dangerous set piece opportunity from 26 yards out, but the ball was headed away as it was curving toward the net as the score remained deadlocked at 0-0 going into the break.
NMU continued to turn up the pressure in the second half, including a deep shot from Addison Wargo to force yet another save from Wolter. They would then earn themselves a free kick opportunity about 22 yards from the goal line, but Wolter would again rob the Wildcats of a score, just punching Hannah Kastamo’s shot attempt above the cross bar.
Despite the onslaught of NMU pressure, the Panthers would finally break the deadlock in the 80th minute, scoring on their second shot of the day and only their first shot on goal as Schamanek lobbed the ball into the box for Breault who sent it past Jillian Thompson. The Wildcats thought that they had the equalizer shortly thereafter with a header into the back of the net, but an offside call would keep the score 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.
NMU continued to fight in search of the equalizer, but the Panther defense was able to hold on to secure the 1-0 victory.
Up Next
The Wildcats return to action on Friday, Oct. 24 when they travel to face off against the Grand Valley State Lakers with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m.
