The Basics
Score: #19 Saginaw Valley State 3 – Lake Erie 2
Records: SVSU (12-2-0, 10-1-0 GLIAC) | LEC (5-7-1, 5-5-1 GLIAC)
Location: Braddock Field - University Center, Mich.
UNIVERSITY CENTER - The No. 19-ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team hosted the Lake Erie Storm on Sunday afternoon in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup at SVSU's Braddock Field. Despite a 2-1 Lake Erie halftime lead, the Cardinals responded in a big way with a pair of second half goals to pull out a 3-2 victory over the Storm.
The game's scoring got underway at the 7:20 mark when Lake Erie grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Samuel Mutemwa found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
SVSU responded just over 10 minutes after that score when Matt Wilson found Troy Watson at the 17:45 marker to knot the score at 1-1.
Lake Erie's Stuart Campbell scored next in the contest, notching an unassisted goal with just under four minutes left in the half to make the score 2-1 in the Storm's advantage.
Trailing by that same 2-1 count into the half, the Cardinals drew even when Watson found Jordan Kalk for a goal at the 59:58 point of the game to make the score 2-2.
A Storm foul on SVSU's Tyler Channell at the 70:37 mark in the box gave him a penalty kick opportunity and a chance to give the home team the lead. Channell made the most of the opportunity, burying the ball past the Lake Erie goalkeeper for the 3-2 edge.
Lake Erie put a couple shots on goal late but Cardinal goalkeeper Alexandre Bouillennec made the save on both, preserving the one-goal victory for his team.
Inside the Boxscore
- The win over the Storm evens the season series at 1-1, as Lake Erie gave the Cardinals their only conference loss so far this season.
- Saginaw Valley is still atop the GLIAC standings, as the Cards and Northwood each have identical 10-1 records. SV owns the head-to-head right now, as it defeated the Timberwolves by a score of 2-1 on September 11th.
- Kalk's goal gives him 18 on the season, a total which leads the GLIAC and the nation and sets a new single season record for the SVSU men's soccer program.
- Channell's score makes it 16 scores for the senior forward, upping his point total to 45 on the season.
- Watson now has three goals on the season and two assists.
- Wilson's helper in the match gives him a total of 10 on the season, ranking him second in the league behind Channell's 13 assists.
- Bouillennec improved to 12-1-0 on the season after the victory in net for the Cardinals, as he made two stops between the posts.
- The Cardinals out-shot the Storm by a 15-7 margin and held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
From SVSU Head Coach Andy Wagstaff
"Today was yet again another hard fought battle between both teams. Lake Erie is a well coached team and they came with a good game plan. In the first half we found ourselves behind twice. At halftime my lads got the "hairdryer treatment" from me. Basically that means I wasn't pleased and they knew it. We really didn't go through too much tactically in that halftime intervention, but we told them that our desire and competitiveness needed to be better. In the second half the team responded and their quality at times was excellent. I was extremely pleased with their desire to get back into the game with a drive and endeavor that will help them achieve much success at the business end of the season."
Up Next for the Cardinals...
Saginaw Valley travels through Ohio for at third and final time this season over the weekend. The Cardinals are slated to play at Tiffin Friday (Oct. 23) at 2:30 p.m. before taking on the Findlay Oilers Sunday (Oct. 25) in a noon matchup.