UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team came up just short in its bid for a GLIAC Tournament title on Sunday afternoon, falling 1–0 to Northern Michigan University at Robert C. Braddock Field.

The Cardinals (11–3–4) controlled large stretches of the match and outshot the Wildcats 20–6, but a second-half goal for NMU was the difference.

After a scoreless first half highlighted by two saves from Nick Kay (Walled Lake, Mich. / Walled Lake Central HS) and consistent pressure from the Cardinals—who earned eight first-half corner kicks—Northern Michigan broke through in the 71st minute. Tyler Kowalczyk finished on a tic-tac-toe passing play from James Carr and Luca Rosen to give NMU a 1–0 lead.

Saginaw Valley continued to push forward with 13 second-half shots and seven corner kicks, generating multiple looks from Liam Zimmerman (Clarkston, Mich. / Clarkston HS), Matty Telfer (Newcastle, England / Sunderland College), and Kolja Thomas (Butjadingen, Germany / Zinzendorschule Tossens), but could not find the equalizer.

SVSU held advantages of 20–6 in shots, 4–3 in shots on goal, and 15–2 in corner kicks, while both teams finished with nine fouls. Northern Michigan's Asaf Kristal made three saves to secure the shutout.

Zimmerman is joined by Logan Kunnen (Jenison, Mich. / Unity Christian HS) and Oleksiy Kharko (Mississauga, Ontario / Philip Pocock Secondary Catholic School) on the All-GLIAC Tournament team.

Up Next: The loss concludes a strong 2025 campaign for Saginaw Valley, which finished 11–3–4, claimed the GLIAC regular-season championship for the second straight year, and reached the conference tournament final for the fourth straight season.