Wildcats are looking for second straight NCAA Tournament appearance
MARQUETTE, Mich. — Head coach Alex Fatovic has announced the 2026 Northern Michigan University men’s soccer schedule.
After going from last place in 2024 to tournament champions in 2025, the Wildcats will have a challenging schedule in 2026, starting with a strong non-conference slate.
“The fall schedule will be the toughest we’ve faced in my time here, and it is exactly what we need to prepare for the grind of the GLIAC regular season and the defense of our tournament title,” says Fatovic, who returns to the helm for his fifth season after guiding the ‘Cats to a program-first GLIAC Tournament title and NCAA Championship appearance.
NMU gears up for the season with three pre-season exhibitions, starting a pair at home. NMU welcomes Division One UW-Green Bay on Thursday, August 13, followed by Schoolcraft College for Community / SSA / MQT United Day on Sunday, August 16, before rounding out the non-conference schedule on the road at UW-Superior.
The ‘Cats then open the regular season with five non-conference matches, starting with a weekend on the road. NMU begins with Northwood before rounding out the weekend with the Tiffin Dragons, who are four-time defending GMAC Regular Season champions, have won the GMAC Tournament twice in that span, and have been to the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons.
NMU returns home for a lone match against Lake Erie College on Thursday, September 3, before a quick turnaround for a road non-conference match against GLIAC power Saginaw Valley State, who were the GLIAC Regular Season champions in 2025, GLIAC Tournament champions in 2024, and both the regular season and tournament champion in 2021. The ‘Cats then round out the non-conference slate at home against Jamestown on Saturday, September 12.
“We’ll have every opportunity to test ourselves against some of the top teams in the country before opening conference play with four straight road GLIAC matches. It doesn’t get much tougher than that, but with six of our final eight at home, including the last four, we know we control our fate. August can’t get here soon enough!”
The ‘Cats open the conference slate with four straight on the road, starting with another trip to University Center, Michigan, to take on SVSU on September 18.
From there, six of the final eight games are at home, starting with Purdue Northwest and Parkside on Friday, October 2, and Sunday, October 4. NMU ends the season with consecutive home matches against St. Cloud State on October 16, Roosevelt on October 18, Davenport on October 23, and senior day on Sunday, October 25.
The GLIAC Postseason tournament is set to begin on Saturday, October 31, and run through the championship match on Sunday, November 8. The NCAA Tournament begins shortly after, with the first round beginning Friday, November 13.
