COLUMBUS, Ohio - The #2 Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team bounced-back after its first loss of the season with a huge 4-1 road victory over the Ohio Dominican University Panthers on Sunday afternoon (10/19).
The victory improves SVSU's record to 11-1-2 overall on the season and 8-1-2 in the GLIAC, keeping it in a tie for the top spot in the league.
It was the Cardinals' third-ever victory over ODU and first regular season sweep over the Panthers after posting a 2-1 win on October 3rd.
The Cardinals got on the board first and notched three first half goals to hold the 3-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Michael Winters got the Cards on the board first at the 14:53 mark when he got behind the defense and used a feed from Tyler Channell to score his second goal of the season.
Exactly six minutes later, at the 20:53 mark, Philip Strachan scored his second goal of the 2014 campaign as well off a feed from Aleksandar Isaevski's corner kick to make the score 2-0.
Jordan Kalk would score his fourth goal off a Tyler Channell pass at the 22:12 marker to extend the lead to 3-0, which is what the score would be heading into the half.
The Cardinals owned the shots category in the first half, registering a 13-2 advantage.
Kalk would add another goal just into the second period at the 60:16 mark when he placed a chip shot over the keeper's head to make the score 4-0.
The SVSU defense would hold strong the rest of the way, allowing just a single goal at the 82:59 marker that made the score 4-1.
That's all the Panthers could muster, as the Cards closed-out for the three-goal victory.
Cardinal goalkeeper Alexandre Bouillennec improved his record to 11-1-2 on the 2014 season with the victory.
"Today was a great opportunity to get back on the field and compete after Friday's tough result," said Head Coach Cale Wassermann. "I was extremely happy with everyone's effort and sharpness today. When we are firing on all cylinders, we can be a very good team. We have some huge games left and need to be focused on the little details. At this point in the season, that's what makes the difference."
The late season stretch begins Friday (10/24) when Saginaw Valley hosts the University of Findlay in a 2:00 pm match at SVSU's Braddock Field.