UNIVERSITY CENTER – The nationally-third ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw in double-overtime Sunday (10/5) against the Lake Erie College Storm on a chilly day at SVSU's Braddock Field.
The Cardinals and Storm both played strong defense all afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper Alexandre Bouillennec recorded his seventh shutout of the season in his first 10 collegiate games. Bouillennec, was stellar once more, recording 11 saves on the afternoon, including four crucial saves in the overtime sessions. He leads the GLIAC in save percentage with a mark of .891.
Saginaw Valley put the pressure on the Storm midway through the second half as Matthew Lang and Aleksandar Isaevski both got shots on goal but were turned away. The final minutes of regulation saw each team continuing their excellent defensive play.
The Storm out-shot the Cardinals 4-3 in the first and second overtime but neither goalie would budge as the teams finished the afternoon with both defenses not allowing a goal in 110 minutes of play. Lake Erie out-shot SVSU 23-12 for the game.
"Today was a tough game trying to bounce back after Friday's match, as a lot of guys had heavy legs and we started slow," said SVSU Head Coach Cale Wassermann. "Lake Erie had a great game plan and executed well, and it took us a while to adapt. I was happy with the way we finished the game though. At the end of the day, it is another clean sheet but obviously we wanted more. We are ready to re-focus and get the second half of the season continuing in the right direction."
The Cardinal defense is allowing a league-low 0.55 goals per game.
The Cardinals remain unbeaten on the season with the tie as, their record moves to 8-0-2 overall and 5-0-2 in the GLIAC. Lake Erie's record is now 3-4-2 overall and 2-3-2 in league play.
SVSU returns to action Friday (10/10) at Braddock Field when the Cards host the Malone University Pioneers at 3:30 pm. Saginaw Valley claimed the teams' earlier meeting this year, a 3-0 decision on September 21st.
