2023 Northern Michigan Men's Soccer Season Preview
Coming off the back of its first season under new head coach Alex Fatovic, the Northern Michigan University men’s soccer team has added some new exciting talent in an effort to improve on the steps taken last season.
Under head coach Alex Fatovic’s first season at the helm, the Wildcats recorded a 5-8-4 record with a 4-5-3 conference record, produced the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and All-GLIAC First Teamer in Tommaso Lami, All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Jan Hoffmann, and recorded the most single-season wins for the program since 2019.
“Much higher expectations… It’s going to be a very high standard this year,” head coach Alex Fatovic responded when asked about the upcoming season. “We are here to win the league, we are here to try and compete for this region…and that’s what [the] players want. They want ambition, we’re ambitious coaches, and we believe we can create a winning program.”
2023 GLIAC Preseason poll
After finishing fifth in the 2022 season, the Wildcats have been tabbed to finish in the same spot as last season, announced by the league on Thursday. The Wildcats move up in the poll from last season, as in 2022 they were tabbed for seventh in the conference.
Even though the Wildcats are slated to finish towards the bottom of the table, coach Fatovic says the team has its sights set on doing big things this season.
“Anything less than a title and playing in the NCAA Tournament is going to be a disappointment for these guys… They’re hungry, they’re fired up, and we don’t have to motivate them [to compete for a league title], which is fantastic.”
2023 Roster Breakdown
The Wildcats will have high hopes for the 2023 season after a successful offseason and returning top-quality players.
The Wildcats return All-GLIAC First Team and GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Tommaso Lami, after a successful freshman season. Lami started in every game for the ‘Cats, where he led the team in goals, points, shots, shots on goal, and game-winning goals, and was second on the team in assists. Across the GLIAC, Lami was third in goals and points.
Kalvin Glodz, recently named captain of the team, returns after starting every game for the Wildcats and leading the team in minutes (outside of the keeper) during the 2022 season. Glodz received a Wildcat Award for Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year after elevating his play during the 2022 season.
Other notable returners are All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Jan Hoffmann, who was third on the team in minutes played behind Glodz, and Cian Tunney, who was second on the team in goals and points and first in assists.
Coach Fatovic brought in some high-level talent during the summer to help bolster the starting 11 and roster depth. When asked about the incoming class, coach Fatovic said:
“They’re fit, they’re technical, and we expect them to fit right in with the guys.”
Some key new additions include graduate transfer Fernando Abascal, a striker from D1 Hofstra University, Florian Palmowski, a top-level goalkeeper from Germany who played in the Hertha Berlin Academy of the Bundesliga, Alessandro Scialanga, a left-back/winger from Italy who played most of his youth career with the Lecce Academy in the Italian Serie-A, and Finn van den Berg, a left-footed defender who played his entire youth career at the world-famous SC Heerenveen Academy of the Dutch Eredivisie.
Last Season
The Wildcats finished with a 5-8-4 record, the most wins since the 2019 season, before bowing out in the first round of the GLIAC playoffs. Three athletes received All-GLIAC accolades and 17 athletes earned GLIAC All-Academic or Academic-Excellence award selections.