KENOSHA, Wis. -- The SVSU Men's Soccer team avenged a pair of regular season losses to the Davenport Panthers on Friday (Nov. 15), putting together a solid performance in a 3-2 victory in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals.
The match was tied at 1-1 after the first 45 minutes of play and Saginaw Valley was able to put up two goals to Davenport's one in the second half, holding-off a late Panther charge and sealing the 3-2 win.
It didn't take long for SV to take the lead in the contest, as Brady Walker scored in the third minute of play to put the Cardinals up 1-0. Alex Gloshen assisted on that goal.
Davenport responded in the 30th minute of the match, using a Miguel Flores goal to knot the score at 1-1.
That is where the score stood at the half, with SVSU out-shooting DU 7-3 and both teams having three corner kicks.
The Cards took a 2-1 lead in the 54th, as GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year Connor Rutz found the back of the net, using feeds from Gabriello Calamita and Kairo Coore.
Saginaw Valley tacked-on another goal in the 64th minute, with Calamita setting up Coore for the 3-1 edge.
The Panthers responded within a minute after that, however, with Matt Whelan scoring and trimming the team's deficit to 3-2.
Davenport would put a couple of shots on net and had some good opportunities to tie the contest but in the end it was SVSU moving on to the tournament's championship match on Sunday.
Inside the Boxscore
- Rutz has now reached double-digits in goals with 10 for the year.
- Coore is right behind with eight scores in 2019 and has a team-high five helpers.
- Calamita has a team-best five assists after his two versus the Panthers.
- Mason Maziasz improved to 11-3-1 on the season, stopping five shots and allowing the two goals.
From Head Coach Louis Barrow
"Today we showed just how deep we can dig when we have to. The lads showed fantastic character and grit against a very good, pragmatic DU side. It was tough match all-around and I have to credit DU. They have a special ability to cause an overwhelming amount of pressure. I also want to add that the DU lads acted with great class when one of our boys was injured. Despite the copious amout of pressure they put on, we stood firm when it mattered. So proud of the lads!"
Up Next...
The Cardinals advance to their third GLIAC Tournament championship match in the last four years, facing league regular season champion Parkside. The teams will square-off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday (Nov. 17) in Wisconsin. SVSU and Parkside split the regular season series, both winning on their home pitch. You can watch live and follow with live stats at svsucardinals.com.
--- www.svsucardinals.com ---