UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team defeated the University of Findlay today (Sept. 19), 2-1 for its second straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win of the week.
The Cardinals were able to get on top early as senior Anthony Palazzolo (Warren, Mich. / De la Salle HS) capatilized on a shot off a pass from freshman Zach Walega (Saline, Mich.) making the score 1-0. Saginaw Valley had eight shots in the first half compared to Findlay's three and took the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The Cardinals started off strong in the second half of play as sophomore Zach Myers (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forrest Hills Eastern HS) found the back of the net off a pass from freshman Noah Sawyer (East Lansing, Haslett HS) making the score 2-0. Findlay tried to come back when they would score late in the second half. Saginaw Valley had 19 total shots compared to Findlay's nine.
Senior goaltender Piotr Kazmierczak (Stargard, Poland) and the Cardinals defense kept the Oilers to only four shots on goal for the day. After the game head coach Cale Wassermann stated, "We went into todays game with the mindset to finish the weekend strong and not let Fridays win get to our heads. We started both halves playing quality soccer and moving the ball well which led to two great goals. It was a bit disappointing the way we finished the game because we got a bit complacent and unorganized which led to a goal against. All in all it was a good weekend leading up to our rematch with Northwood on Wednesday".
With the win Saginaw Valley improves to 4-3-0 overall on the season, and 2-2-0 in the GLIAC, while Findlay falls to 1-4-1 overall on the season, and 1-3-1 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday (Sept. 22) when the take on Northwood University. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 pm.