Parkside 3, Northern Michigan 2
The final whistle blew and the Parkside men's soccer team charged on the field to celebrate their 3-2 win, and first GLIAC regular season title in program history. The title marks men's soccer's first championship since winning the GLVC tournament in 2000. With the win, the Rangers clinched the top-seed in the GLIAC Tournament, which will be hosted by Parkside on Friday, Nov. 15 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 17 (Championship) at Wood Road Field. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Parkside was stunned early when Northern Michigan scored the opening goal in the fifth minute, putting the Rangers title hopes at odds right off the bat. The shock wore off, and Parkside began pressuring the Northern Michigan goal relentlessly, resulting in 17 first half shots. One of those 17 came from redshirt-senior Stevi Krecak when he got on the end of a corner from fellow redshirt-senior Leki Prpa, and equalized for Parkside in the 39^th minute. The score stayed 1-1 for nearly 20 minutes when the Rangers found their second goal of the day in the 59^th minute, this time from Prpa himself. It appeared that Parkside had found its winner, but the Wildcats responded almost instantly and tied the game at 2-2 in the 62^nd minute. The Rangers battled, and eventually went on to find their actual winner from conference-leading goal scorer, redshirt-sophomore Jack Mittelsteadt, who got on the end of another Prpa pass, and slotted it past the Wildcat keeper.
 
HEAR FROM COACH ZITZKE
"We'll enjoy this, because it's a nice accomplishment," said ninth-year head coach Jason Zitzke. "Enjoy it for a day or two, and then get ready for the next challenge because we believe we have a chance to go a little further. That being said I'm very happy for the guys, and we appreciate everyone who comes out to support us, all the parents, alumni, all the Parkside staff. A lot of people worked very hard to make this a special experience and it means a lot to us. I'd like to dedicate this one to my mentor Rick Kilps. Everything that we enjoy in our program, is because of him and what he started."
 
A LOOK AT THE BOX
Prpa led the Rangers with a goal and two assists, and continued his now 7-game point streak. He has now scored 17 points in the last seven games, and leads the GLIAC with 24 points on the year. Also on the scoresheet was Mittelsteadt, who scored his ninth goal, which puts him alone at the top of the GLIAC leaderboard. Parkside's third goal came from Krecak, and the final Ranger who registered a point was senior Burim Huseini, who assisted on Parkside's second goal. Senior goalkeeper Juan Gonzalez had six saves on the game, and now also leads in the GLIAC in saves with 82 on the year.
 
It was an action-packed game as 40 shots were taken throughout the contest. The Rangers were responsible for 25 of them, with seven on goal, while Northern Michigan took 15 with eight on goal.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
With the title, Parkside will now host the GLIAC Tournament, with Semi-finals being played on Friday, Nov. 15, and the Championship taking place on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Rangers will await the winner of a quarterfinal game between the GLIAC No. 4 & 5 seed that will be played on Monday, Nov. 11.