MARQUETTE,Mich.– Saginaw Valley State Women's soccer team defeated Northern Michigan in double overtime play Friday afternoon (Sept. 15) 3-2. The Cardinals now increase their winning streak to four, with an overall record of 4-1-0. The Wildcats drop to 0-5-0 on the season.
Saginaw Valley was a shooting machine on the field today as the Cardinals out-shot the Wildcats 22-7. NMU held on in the first half with five to SVSU's seven but fell behind when the Cardinals contributed 11 shots to the Wildcats' one. During overtime, Saginaw Valley added four shots, including the game winning goal in the second overtime. Northern Michigan had one shot.
The Cardinals jumped out infront on the Wildcats in the first half with a goal coming from Amanda Minissale assisted by Valentina Giambanco at the 27' mark. Northern responded a few minutes later with a header into the SVSU goal to tie the contest 1-1 to end the half. Valentina Giambanco came out strong in the second half and scored at the 47' mark to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats rallied to score a late goal in the 76' to tie SVSU and force the first overtime of the season. Both teams remained scoreless in the first overtime. Valentina Giambanco had the game-winning goal in the second overtime, taking down the Wildcats 3-2.
Inside the Boxscore
• Valentina Giambanco added six shots, four on goal and two scored, including the game-winning goal.
• Defender Amanda Minissale recorded her first goal of the season.
• Whitney Fleming tallied four shots.
• Isabel Bauer contributed three saves in her 110 minutes of play.
• The Cardinals out-shot the Wildcats 22-7.
From Head Coach Michael O'Neill
"Today was a strange one. It was a game where we dominated possession and created numerous chances but still found ourselves barely getting over the line. We need to address the defensive lapses in concentration and make sure we close out games the right way. Nevertheless a win is a win and we have shown great character to dig deep with extremely tired legs. Definitely a win we can build from and use to take us to the next level."
Up Next...
The Cardinals will continue their weekend traveling of the upper peninsula over to Michigan Tech at 12 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 17).
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