DETROIT, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team defeated Marygrove College 5-1 today (Sept. 9).

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead over the Mustangs when junior Robert Short (Goodrich, Mich.) scored an unassisted goal at the 24:55 mark of the contest. Freshman Laurence Paterson (Flint, Mich. / Kearsley HS) scored his first collegiate goal just ten minutes later giving the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage.  Saginaw Valley extended its lead to 3-0 when junior Dan Vitu (Saginaw Mich. / Heritage HS) found the back of the net on an unassisted goal. The Cardinals would add one more goal with just four minutes of play left in the first half when sophomore Ben Thomas (Ada, Mich. / Forest Hills Eastern HS) scored giving Saginaw Valley a 4-0 lead going into the second half of play.

Marygrove would score their only goal of the game just 49 seconds into the second half of play, but the goal would not be enough to hold off the Cardinals. Paterson scored his second goal of the game at the 47:40 mark allowing Saginaw Valley to go on to a 5-1 victory over the Mustangs.

The Cardinals had 20 shots, 14 of which were on goal compared to Marygrove's nine shots. Junior goalkeeper Jason Wise (Troy, Mich.) picked up his third win of the season making him 3-0, while freshman Tyler Yachcik (Grand Blanc, Mich.) made his first appearance in net for Saginaw Valley.

Head coach Cale Wassermann stated "Today was a good day for a lot of players, starters played well and some guys came off the bench and showed why they are here, to make a positive impact on the field. I was disappointed we gave up a goal in the second half but it was a great shot and not much Yachcik could have done to save it. We were lucky to get a couple great goals so we could afford to rest some guys for our GLIAC opener on Sunday. Ohio Dominican is a well coached and very organized team that we will need to be sharp for if we want to come home victorious."

With the win Saginaw Valley improves to 3-0 overall on the season, while Marygrove falls to 0-4 overall on the season. The Cardinals will be back in action on Sunday (Sept. 11) when they travel to Ohio Dominican for their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest of the season. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 pm.