Stone Wall Defense

MARQUETTE- Lake Superior winds blew across the field Sunday afternoon as fans gathered bundled up in winter apparel at the Northern Michigan University soccer field behind the Superior Dome.

Coming into the game, the skies were grey and the sun was nowhere to be found, the Lady Wildcats, with a luke-warm offense, had lost two straight and three of the last five, and in the last three, the team had only been able to put together one goal each time it took the field.

So when Ferris State came to town, it didn’t seem like the Wildcats would get hot anytime soon.

The Bulldogs shutout the Wildcats three times last year, including once in the quarterfinals of the GLIAC tournament, and earlier this year in Big Rapids, the ‘Cats stormed to a 2-0 lead, only to allow two unanswered goals. NMU’s Dana Stephens scored with less than thirty seconds to pull out one of the biggest wins of the season.

Needless to say, the Bulldogs came into town on Sunday looking for revenge.

They left Marquette scoreless and torched to the tune of eight goals.

Dana Stephens, Amelia Johnson and Kari Buckel scored two goals a piece and Emily Lockery and Ashley DeKeyser also added goals for the Wildcats. Despite Ferris State being 1-7-1 in the GLIAC heading into the game, NMU head coach Matt Granstrand figured that the game would be a battle, because as Granstrand says each game, every GLIAC team comes to play every single time out.

“There is no bad team in this conference,” said Granstrand. “This is the best game we have played all year. Probably the best game we have played in a couple years. Unfortunately for Ferris, they were the ones here to be a part of it.

“I’m proud of the girls,” he added. ”They worked hard.”

NMU goalkeepers Kara Music and Jessica Baker both saw action, combining for the shutout. Defensively, the Wildcats gave the Bulldog forwards fits, holding them just to five shots on goal, a performance that senior forward Dana Stephens thinks will benefit a young defensive corps.

“Our defense is young,” said Stephens. “They needed a game like this to build their confidence. It’s an experience that will help down the road.”

The Wildcats, who are now .500 in GLIAC play (4-4-1), will head below the bridge to take on Saginaw Valley State and Northwood this weekend. The Wildcats have five conference games remaining on the schedule, two at home in late October, and strong play will be needed down the stretch with the playoffs right around the corner.

But, as late October soccer approaches, the well-conditioned athletes that make up the Wildcat team aren’t worried about the cold weather the Upper Peninsula offers. Instead, senior Ashley DeKeyser believes it adds another dimension to the NMU home field advantage.

“We live here,” she said with a laugh. “We’re used to the weather. We do a lot of conditioning in practice and it gets us ready for anything.”