TIFFIN, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer program stayed undefeated in the 2024 season Saturday afternoon after defeating Northwood 4-1 in a neutral site game played at Tiffin University. The Cardinals (3-0-0) outshot the Timberwolves (0-2-1) 18-5 and didn't allow a single corner kick leading the category 12-0.

SVSU captured the lead early as Sheikh Manneh scored his first of the season in the sixth minute of the match. A bouncing ball in the box was found by Elliot Nottoli who slide and hooked the ball to the right side for Manneh who stepped in and delivered a strike to the top of the goal. Just over three minutes later, Mzo Mthembu doubled the lead with his fourth goal of the week and off the season. Mthembu backed into the box with a defender on him. After gaining some separation, Mthembu turned and fired a shot to the bottom left of the goal.

Northwood got on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute with a penalty kick opportunity. The Timberwolves got into trouble minutes later after Neil Langan received two yellow cards in three minutes and was shown the red card. With the man advantage, Matty Telfer worked into the left side of the box and was fouled for the Cardinals first penalty kick chance of the season. Telfer, a freshman from Newcastle, England, took the penalty kick chance and scored for his first career goal and points in the Cardinal uniform.

Ten shots, five on goal, and three goals in the first half for SVSU gave them the 3-1 advantage heading into the break. In the second half, the Cardinals played solid defensively only allowing two shots, both on goal, but Cardinal goalkeeper Nick Kay stood tall to earn his third win of the year. In the 82nd minute, Jonny Monney put the icing on the match with his first goal of the year. Monney corralled the ball off a slew of headers and cut through two Timberwolves defenders and scored bottom right to give SVSU the three-goal lead.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley men's soccer has one more road match ahead before coming home. After the first non-ranked opponent in Northwood, SVSU heads to No. 19 University of Charleston (2-0-1) on Saturday, September 21. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM EST from Welch Athletic Complex in Charleston, West Virginia.