Kenosha, Wis. – The Parkside men's soccer team begins the second half of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play this week with two weekday home matches. Parkside will first host Purdue Northwest on Wednesday afternoon before hosting Northern Michigan on Friday.
The Rangers enter the week looking for their first win since Sept. 20 against St. Cloud State. Parkside has lost three of its last four with a draw in its last match at Wood Road Field on Sept. 27 against Saginaw Valley State. Parkside sits in a tie for fifth place in the GLIAC standings, six points behind Wednesday's opponent Purdue Northwest for fourth place. The top six teams in the GLIAC standings make the tournament.
Parkside is led by Kevin Sosa offensively with three goals and six points. Seven different Rangers have scored goals this season. Parkside is fifth in goals scored and goals allowed in the GLIAC with 10 goals scored and 14 goals allowed.
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Mateusz Pass has played every minute in net so far this season for Parkside, making 49 saves and putting together three clean sheets.
Parkside lost to the Lions in Hammond last week, falling 4-2 on a rainy day in Hammond. Jaime Vazquez and Tank Anderson netted goals for the Rangers, who were unable to overcome an early 2-0 first-half deficit after the Lions scored two goals in the first 39 minutes of play.
Parkside lost to Friday's opponent Northern Michigan 1-0 last Sunday in Marquette. In a game that featured 43 total shots and 15 shots on net between the two sides, it was an 81st-minute penalty kick goal by Luca Rosen that proved to be the difference.
Scouting Purdue Northwest (6-2-2, 3-2-1 GLIAC)
The Lions enter the week in fourth place in the GLIAC with 10 points, just one point out of second place and four points behind GLIAC-leading Northern Michigan. Purdue Northwest has won two of its last three matches with 1-0 and 4-2 wins over Davenport and Parkside and a 2-0 loss to Northern Michigan last Friday.
Purdue Northwest has scored the third-most goals in the GLIAC this season and allowed the third-fewest. Eight Lions have scored so far this season, led by Landon Potts with four. He also has the second-most assists on the team with two.
Estefano Alvear and Xavier Fernandez have split time in net this season, but the pair have combined for four clean sheets with 37 saves.
Scouting (RV) Northern Michigan (7-2-2, 4-0-2 GLIAC)
The Wildcats enter the second half of GLIAC play leading the league with 14 points, three points ahead of Roosevelt and Saginaw Valley State. Northern Michigan features the top scoring offense in the GLIAC at 2.36 goals per game.
Luca Rosen enters the week with the most goals scored in the GLIAC and NCAA Division II with 12. He also ranks second nationally in total points with 28. He puts 2.91 shots on goal per contest, which also leads all of NCAA Division II. Sergio Cano Castro ranks fourth nationally with seven assists on the season, and five Wildcats have two or more assists this season.
NMU has turned up the pressure on its defensive end as of late. The Wildcats have not conceded a goal in over 270 minutes of action with three straight shutouts, with their last goal allowed coming in the 70th minute against Roosevelt on Sept. 25.
Following this week, the Rangers will hit the road for their final regular-season road trip of the season with a trip to Michigan to take on Saginaw Valley State and Davenport on Oct. 16 and 18. Links to live coverage can be found at parksiderangers.com/coverage.
