UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team defeated Nortwood by a score of 5-3 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Friday afternoon (Oct. 25).

The Cardinals started the game off strong by scoring two early goals from the duo of Jennifer Goethals and Ashley Henderson.  

The first goal of the game came in the 13th minute via a quality finish by Henderson off of a Goethals cross.  At the 17:45 mark, the pair would strike again when Goethals put in a cross from the left side that Henderson met with her head and placed nicely in the back of the net, giving SVSU a 2-0 lead.

Northwood would bounce back and score a goal of its own at the 18:37 mark off of a scuffle on the goal line that Allie Misner poked through into an empty net.

The 2-1 score would take the teams in to halftime.

The scoring in the second half came early and often for both teams.  

Goethals had her turn at scoring, adding two goals to the scoresheet in the 50th and 54th minutes, respectively.  

Henderson added her third goal of the game off of a deflection that went high over the Northwood goalkeeper's head and in to the net.  It was her first-career hat trick in a Cardinal uniform.

Northwood threatened minutes later, putting together a scoring drive of its own.  

Alyssa Tomassi added two goals at the 68:26 and the 70:04 marks for the Timberwolves to conclude the scoring.

Saginaw Valley would hold on for the 5-3 victory.

SVSU improves to 5-8-1 overall and 4-6-0 in the GLIAC while Northwood drops to 5-8-1 on the season and 4-6-0 in the conference.

The Cardinals are back in action at home on Friday (Oct. 31) against the University of Findlay. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm at Braddock Field.