UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The ebb and flow of the game was one of the most interesting of the season for the Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team Sunday morning against the Saint Cloud State Huskies. What started with a celebration of seven seniors, Jack Simms, Benjamin Adamson, Lachlan Hepburn, Joshua Rubin, Chidie Nnolim, Cody Miller, and Seth Buff, turned into chaos after the half.
SVSU heightened their spirits early into the game when Elliot Nottoli scored his second goal of the season in the 9th minute. Justin Griffith lobbed a pass into the box where Shiekh Manneh tipped it to his right for Nottoli to receive and score high over the goalkeeper securing a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals controlled most of the first half as they consistently held onto the ball and kept up the offensive pressure. Simms had one major test in the first half and stood up to it. A miscue on a pass around midfield allowed a two-on-one break for the Huskies. Nolan Pratumwon got a clear scoring opportunity in the box, but Simms aggressively took the shot off the body to keep the lead.
After the half is when things flipped. There were only two yellow cards, one per team, issued in the first half. Within the first four minutes of the second half, five yellows were handed out, including two to Anthony Waller which forced SVSU to play with ten men for the remaining 40 minutes. A test that Saginaw Valley nearly completed. They held down the 1-0 lead through most of the second half, until a corner kick allowed Owen Worsdell the time and space to get a shot off at the top of the box and tie the game in the 84th minute.
The teams pushed back and forth for last minute chances, but nothing got through. Mzo Mthembu had three shots to lead the offense for SVSU. Nottoli along with Alex Demorow had two along with several others chipping in one each for a team total of 13. Simms made two saves on the three shots on goal he faced in the 1-1 tie.
Saginaw Valley men's soccer moves to 4-5-4 overall and 2-3-3 in GLIAC play. They'll finish off the season with two games on the road before the GLIAC tournament at the end of the month. The next match will be at Purdue Northwest on Friday. Kickoff is set for 4:00 PM.
