PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The nationally 2nd-ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team was handed its first loss of the 2014 season Friday (10/17) by a score of 2-0 to Lake Erie College in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup.  The Cardinals had previously held an impressive 10-0-2 record overall.

The Storm struck first at the 24:03 mark of the opening half and then again in the 84th minute of the second half to make the score 2-0 and seal the Cardinal's fate. 

Saginaw Valley gave themselves multiple opportunities in the first half, outshooting Lake Erie 7-3 with six of those shots being on goal compared to the Storm's two shots on goal.  The second half ended with the Cardinals once again dominating in shots at a margin of 16-2, but unfortunately unable to finish at the net.  

Sophomore Jordan Kalk led Saginaw Valley offensively, firing-off eight shots throughout the game with five of them being on net.  

"Today was a tough game that will test our mental toughness moving forward. It's never a good feeling to go down a goal but especially on a penalty kick.  That woke us up a little bit," stated SVSU Head Coach Cale Wassermann. "After that, our team battled and controlled the game, dominating possession, shots (23 to 5) and corners (9 to 2) but on a field that is only 64 yards wide which is well below what we are used to, it's extremely difficult to find the space needed to create goals."

Wassermann added...

"I was proud of the team for pushing on and testing a very good Lake Erie team until the final whistle but it just was not our day today."

The Cardinals fall to 10-1-2 overall and 7-1-2 in the GLIAC, while Lake Erie improves to 6-4-2 overall and 5-3-2 in the conference.

The Cardinals are back in action Sunday (10/19) when they travel to Ohio Dominican University for another conference game set to begin at 2:00 pm.  SVSU claimed a 2-1 victory over the Panthers earlier this season on October 3rd in University Center.