UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team earned a 4-2 victory over visiting Tiffin University at Braddock Field on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals scored two goals in each half to pull away from the Dragons and improve to a 2-3 record for the season.
Jonathan Monney had a great day for SVSU as he scored a brace in the game that included the final goal of the day for the home team that put Saginaw Valley up 4-1. Jayden Cameron scored once, as did Shiekh Manneh. Chidie Nnolim recorded an assist on Monney's first strike that put SVSU ahead 2-0 in the first half. Cameron led the way offensive going 4-4 on shots while Monney finished a perfect 3-3 in the same category. Jack Simms (W, 1-0) earned the win while making eight saves including one diving one late and stopping a penalty kick in the 78th minute that threatened to cut the Cardinal lead to just one goal.
SVSU came out swinging as they scored in the first minute of play when Cameron won on a scramble for the ball and was opened for a shot that he put home in the back of the net. Monney followed suit with a goal off the dish from Nnolim less than two minutes later and the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead in the opening three minutes of play.
Tiffin put a shot away at the 11:10 mark and the score would remain 2-1 for the remainder of the first half.
Manneh scored an unassisted goal in the opening five minutes of play in the second to increase the lead to 3-1 for SVSU. Monney then finished off the scoring for the home side with a goal at the 63:02 mark to extend things to 4-1. A final goal from the Dragons in the 75th minute gave the game its final score. However, Tiffin continued to battle until the final whistle, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
The SVSU men's soccer team will hit the road for a two-game trip to begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play starting at St. Cloud State on Friday, September 15. That game will begin at 8:30 p.m.