Wildcats outshot Lakers, but couldn’t finish opportunities
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — The NMU women’s soccer team opened its GLIAC road slate of matches today, falling to the Roosevelt Lakers 2-1.
The Wildcats (3-3-1, 0-3-0 GLIAC) came out on the front foot and dominated for the opening 45 minutes. Despite shooting the Lakers 12-2 and generating four corner’s to none, the Wildcats were unable to convert on any of its five shots on frame or 12 attempts, and the Lakers escaped to the locker room in a scoreless draw.
The Lakers (1-4-2, 1-2-0 GLIAC) found footing in the second half, getting goals from Bella Perry (61:42) and Aaliyah Leanos (67:07) just six minutes apart. Perry converted a penalty kick, and Leanos scored from well outside the box, using her left foot to find the upper left corner, perfectly past Carly Sides’ outstretched hand.
Gretchen Ellis (88:08) scored her first of the year, cutting the lead in half and giving the Wildcats a shimmer of life with just under two minutes remaining. The shots were 8-7 in favor of NMU in the second half, including a 4-1 advantage in the final 14 minutes.
From the Wildcat starters, Madison Bilbia had four shot attempts, followed by Alyse Daavettila, Sole Corley, and Addison Frantti with three attempts each. Daavettila and Corley had two on target, with both Bilbia and Frantti recording one on frame. Ema Delgado recorded three shot attempts from the bench.
Sides made three saves in the full 90 minutes played, the only Wildcat to play the full match. Central defenders Irene Kiilunen and Riley Hill played 88 minutes apiece, with Ava Buhlman at 72 minutes, the only other Wildcat to record more than 70+ minutes of playing time.
The Wildcats used 11 players off the bench today, with Ellis (52), Marena Maceroni (45), and Delgado (41) putting in shifts over 40 minutes.
On the match, the Wildcats outshot the Lakers 20-9, recording seven on target to five, and produced seven corner kicks to one. The Wildcats were whistled for 11 fouls to six, and Corley was shown a yellow card.
The ‘Cats close the weekend with a trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the Green and Gold will play the Rangers at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Setember 20.
