Senior Kaffie Kurz and junior Ryan Palmbaum earned NCAA Division II Third Team All-Midwest Region honors from the coaches’ group as they led the Wildcats to 4-11-3 overall and 4-8-2 GLIAC records.

Palmbaum, from Rocklin, California, appeared in 16 of the team’s 18 games, leading NMU in goals with two, assists with three and points with seven. He fired off 52 shots, including 21 on goal and played 1,228 minutes.

Kurz started all 18 games this season, playing 1,475 minutes as he recorded two assists for two points and took 17 shots, six on goal.

Kurz also earned GLIAC Second

Team honors after the Wildcats’ season ended in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals with a 1-0 loss at Saginaw Valley State on Nov. 8. It marked NMU’s fifth straight appearance in the postseason.

Northern Michigan University's Ryan Palmbaum, top center, tries to head the ball over Northwood's Chase Clark during the first half of their men's soccer game played April 11 at the Superior Dome in Marquette. (Journal file photo)

It was Kurz’s fourth All-GLIAC honor as he finished second in Northern program history in games started with 62, fourth in career shots with 69 and tied for fifth in shots on goal with 23.

He was also earned the 2020-21 NMU Athletics Wildcat Award for Humanitarian of the Year, which goes across all Northern sports, due to his charity work and sending soccer cleats to young athletes in need in his home country of Liberia.

Teammate Noah Eklund appeared on the GLIAC Honorable Mention list, too. The freshman defender from Andover, Minnesota, scored his first collegiate goal at Purdue Northwest in October, a game-winner for the Wildcats. He played a team-high 1,664 minutes this season.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

Northern Michigan University's Noah Eklund retrieves the ball to get it back into play during the Wildcats' men's soccer game against Purdue Northwest on Sept. 24. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)