UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer program is heading to the NCAA DII Men's Soccer Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. The Cardinals (13-5-2) defeated the Tiffin Dragons (14-6-1) with a final score of 2-1 Sunday afternoon.
SVSU was outshot 19-3 as the Dragons had 10 shots on goal to the Cardinals three. Tiffin took the early lead on their second shot on goal but the Cardinal goalkeeper, Nick Kay, made nine saves, six in the second half, to earn the win. Elliot Nottoli and Francisco Capellan both scored for SVSU with the final Cardinal shot coming from Jayden Cameron off a high-quality free kick opportunity.
The Dragons took the leads in the 9th minute after Kay made a save off Caleb Gibbons' shot. The rebound was headed in by Zachary Garcia for the 1-0 lead. Tiffin held the advantage for less than four minutes when Nottoli tied the game in the 13th minute. A turnover by the Dragons in their own end wound up on the foot of Nottoli who picked a perfect spot and beat the TU keeper in the bottom left corner.
Just over eight minutes later, SVSU took the lead when Anthony Waller was fouled in the 18-yard box after a corner kick. The foul led to a penalty kick and Capellan took the shot. Capellan scored two penalty kick shots this season, but both have been in PK shootouts, the first in the GLIAC Championship and the second in the last match against Rogers State. Capellan shot to the left as the keeper dove to the right and SVSU took a 2-1 lead in the 22nd minute.
Kay made two massive saves in the second half. One off a header that he punched over the net and the second on a free kick outside the 18-yard box that he tipped into the air and then caught the rebound before it hit the turf. Cameron had a chance to extend the lead late in the match on a similar free kick. His shot curved above the wall and back down to the top left corner and was punched away by the Tiffin keeper.
The Cardinals held on to win 2-1 and are the first team in the NCAA DII Men's Soccer Championships to punch their ticket to the Quarterfinals. The last time SVSU men's soccer was in the NCAA DII Quarterfinals was in 2012. Saginaw Valley defeated Northeastern State 1-0 and eventually lost the Championship match 3-2 to Lynn.
Head coach Louis Barrow had this to say after the win,
"I'm a big believer in clean sheets and keeping our goals against down. We've had many, many different players playing in the back line this year and they've done so well. We've done well keeping the ball out of the back of the net and as long as you don't concede, you don't lose games."
Up Next: Saginaw Valley hosts the winner between McKendree and Findlay on Saturday, December 7 at Robert C. Braddock Field. Kickoff time is yet to be determined.
