UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer program hosted Ferris State Friday afternoon and are battling for GLIAC tournament seeding in the final two weeks of the season. The Cardinals (6-5-4, 4-3-4 GLIAC) scored four unanswered goals in the second half to win 4-1 against the Bulldogs (6-5-4, 5-4-2 GLIAC).
The Cardinals offense thrived, outshooting the Bulldogs 23-14 and led in shots on goal 9-7. The first half was controlled by Ferris State, holding possession 63% of the time and leading 1-0 at the break. 18 of the 23 SVSU shots came in the second half as they trailed 7-3 in shots on goal and scored four unanswered goals on six shots on goal without allowing another shot on goal by FSU.
Riliegh Garbarz led with seven shots, two on goal while Madi Bajis had four shots, two on goal and Sophia Zalucki put both of her shots on target, including the game winning goal. Ferris State scored in the 25th minute as their leading scorer Katherine Welch put a shot in the middle of the net that deflected off SVSU's goalkeeper's, Lainey Garbarz, hands and into the net. Garbarz ended the match with six saves on seven shots before giving way to Kennedi Pugh for the final three and a half minutes.
It took five minutes into the second half for Bajis to tie the game. A foul just outside the 18-yard box set up a free kick and Bajis' shot went off the crossbar and into the top right corner. The Cardinals were pressuring, trying to break the tie, and Brie Clasen had two shots in the box blocked and one rebounded to Grace Miller who launched a shot off the right post.
SVSU exploded late in the game for three goals in under seven minutes. In the 75th minute, Zalucki overpowered the keeper with a shot low that rolled under Morgan Fillion and in. Saginaw Valley doubled their lead in the 80th minute as a clearing attempt was headed back by Ferris State but intercepted by Strong. On the run, Strong went wide left around the keeper and scored on the empty net to make it 3-1. Just over a minute later, R. Garbarz scored her fourth of the season as Emma Bradley tapped the ball out of the air to Garbarz. She knocked it down with her chest before striking it out of the air with her right foot and over the keeper to the left side and in.
Up Next: With the win, Saginaw Valley women's soccer hops into fifth place in the GLIAC after being tied with Purdue Northwest. The Cardinals take on the Pride (6-4-5, 3-4-4 GLIAC) on Sunday, November 3 from Dowling Park in Hammond, Indiana. PNW enters the match on a three-game losing streak with kickoff set for 12:00 PM EST.
