UNIVERSITY CENTER - The nationally 4th-ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against GLIAC rival Northwood University on a cold, rainy day today at SVSU's Braddock Field (9/12).
The Cardinals and Timberwolves both showed excellent defensive play in the teams GLIAC opener. Saginaw Valley had the advantage in shots for the game, out-shooting the Timberwolves by a 16-8 margin.
The best chance for the Cards on the day was in the final minutes of the first half. Junior Tyler Channell fired in two shots on goal that were stopped and senior midfielder Laurence Paterson put one off the left post.
The second half was a bit chippy, with a total of seven yellow cards and one red card. Northwood played the majority of the second half down a man because of the red card. The team's combined for 28 fouls in the contest.
Freshman goalkeeper Alexandre Bouillennec continued his stellar play for the Cardinals by stopping all three shots that were on goal. The Cardinal defense has yet to allow a goal this season in three matches.
Both teams continued their strong defensive play into the overtime sessions. The Cardinals could only manage two shots in the extra frames. Bouillennec made two of his three saves in the second overtime, keeping the clean sheet for the home team.
The tie puts the Cardinals and Timberwolves each at 2-0-1 on the season and 0-0-1 in the GLIAC. Saginaw Valley looks to get back in the win column with a non-conference road match at Marygrove on Sunday (9/14) at 1 pm. The next GLIAC contest for the Cards is on Friday, September 19th at Walsh University.
