Cedarville scores the game’s only goal with 3:59 remaining in regulation
CLAREMORE, Okla. — The tenth-seeded Northern Michigan (NMU) Wildcats (9-5-6) fell to the seventh-seeded #17 Cedarville Yellow Jackets (12-1-7) by a score of 1-0 in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on Thursday.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my guys,” said head coach Alex Fatovic in a post-match press conference. “They fought hard all season, and then specifically today when it seems like everything was against us; the travel, playing Sunday then getting down here to play on Thursday when the opposition has had a week’s rest, we lost [Van Roij] with an injury in the first half and had someone else pick up food poisoning in the midfield. Every single thing went against our guys, and it took everything from the opposition to beat them, so it just shows the class and character that our team has.”
The Wildcats’ historic season came to an end after a diving header by Cedarville’s Christian Nardelli found the back of the net with four minutes remaining in the contest. NMU thought they scored a goal of its own in the first half, as Ian Weimer tapped in a rebound off a dropped ball from the goalkeeper, but the officials blew the play dead.
“I thought our team played fantastic, and when you’re in the NCAA Tournament, every team is good. Congratulations to Cedarville.”
Despite the loss, Asaf Kristal had another strong performance in a season that has seen him rewrite the NMU record book for goaltenders with seven saves on the day. Head coach Fatovic was asked about his impact on the program in his post-match press conference.
“Asaf has been tremendous. What everybody see’s in the stats are incredible; but for us, what we see as a team, is his value in leadership, having a positive attitude, and his energy. It was kind of one of the big pieces we were missing last year, and he’s been amazing on and off the field.”
The Wildcats ‘Cinderella Story’ came to a close today, but to head coach Fatovic, he said that it was never that.
“To the rest of the soccer world, I think it is a Cinderella story, but for us it’s not. We knew what we we’re capable of, and what these guys did in the offseason to get better and learn from the mistakes from last season to put them in a position to win the title this year was phenomenal… this group found a way. Their back was against the wall a couple of weeks ago, and since then they’ve looked inward and found a way to play at the level they’re capable of.”
Joining head coach Fatovic in the press conference were senior leaders Alessandro Scialanga and Jan Hoffman, who coach described as major contributors to “help put the [NMU men’s soccer] program into a position to compete nationally”. Scialanga said that the ‘Cats biggest strength this season has been the Wildcats strength as a full unit.
“As a whole, our [teams] biggest strength is we have different players who can step up in different moments. We’re not just a one-man team, its a full team effort, and every guy can come in and put in a performance… We represent the definition of a team sport.”
Fellow senior Hoffmann was asked about what his biggest memory he will take away from his historic final season in the Green and Gold.
“It was the first time in program history that we made the national tournament and we won the GLIAC Championship game, so that’s probably what I am going to take out of it. But it still hurts right now… losing in the first round of the national tournament in your senior year wasn’t the way I expected today to go, but thats the way soccer goes sometimes.”
Hoffmann also said he will take away lasting relationships he’s made here.
“This group of guys, the connections I’ve made, are friends and family, and that’s something that I can take with me for the rest of my life.”
How it Happened
Cedarville opened the contest with a quick counterattack up the left side to earn a corner kick opportunity that ultimately overshot everyone. The Yellow Jackets would continue to pressure with another dangerous possession a few minutes later, but they would ultimately come up empty without a single shot attempt. NMU would then return the favor with a counterattack on the other end, earning a corner kick opportunity of their own eight minutes into the game. After playing the ball short, Jan Hoffman sent in the first shot attempt for either team which was blocked away, but the Wildcats soon found themselves with three corner chances in a span of three minutes with the third narrowly missing the foot of Ian Weimer toward what would have been a wide open side of the net.
Both teams would continue to pressure one another with NMU repeatedly testing the box while Cedarville relied more on dangerous counters, but neither goaltender needed to make a play until the 37th minute when Luca Rosen fired in a shot toward the top of the net that was narrowly deflected just above the crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick, the Wildcats thought they had scored off of a misplayed ball by CU goaltender Eben Dewhurst, but a foul was called against NMU prior to the ball reaching Dewhurst. The Yellow Jackets would then produce their most dangerous possessions late in the half, but Asaf Kristal was ready to save the day with back to back saves as Landon Nate threatened the right side of the net. Kristal would then make a diving grab in the final ten seconds of the half to preserve the scoreless stalemate going into the break.
Kristal opened the second half with another outstanding save, stopping a line drive of a shot early in the second half, and the Wildcats countered on the other end, but Luca Rosen’s shot narrowly missed high. Cedarville would then up the intensity, earning five corner kick opportunities in a span of five minutes, but the NMU defense held firm, fending off each attempt. The Wildcats would earn another chance with a free kick from the NCAA logo. However, Alessandro Scialanga’s shot to the upper left corner was knocked away by Dewhurst. The Wildcat defense continued to make plays as the game remained scoreless going into the final ten minutes of play, but with four minutes remaining on the clock, Michael Catanzarite lobbed in a ball toward the net where a driving Christian Nardelli fired in a header to the right side of the net that proved to be the game winner. NMU continued to fight to try and equalize, but the clock would ultimately reach zero with a 1-0 decision.
