CANTON, Ohio - The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team traveled to Canton for a Friday match with GLIAC opponent Malone University and came away with a 3-1 league victory.
SVSU got off to a quick start in the match, as sophomore Jenny Goethals notched her first goal of the season just 6:35 into the contest off a feed from Presley Tibbetts to put the visitors up by a score of 1-0. It was Tibbetts's second assist in 2014 and the second in as many contests.
The Pioneers answered back and knotted the score at 1-1 at the 28:12 marker after a goal by Brianna Smith.
The teams would carry that tie into the halftime break, but the Cards would strike quickly once more coming out of the half.
Senior Holly Laser would find the back of the net just 12 minutes into the second period, as she knocked-in a Bria Spraggins shot that bounced off the Malone goalkeeper. It was Laser's first goal and Spraggins's first helper on the year.
At the 71:14 mark, Stefanie Klug would add another goal for SV, her second of the season, and put the Lady Cardinals up 3-1 after making good with a goal on a penalty kick.
The SVSU defense and goalie Claire Spleth stayed stout from there, as the sophomore saved eight of the nine shots she faced for the entire match, as the Pioneers fired-off 13 shots. Her record stands at 3-0-1 on the season.
Saginaw Valley was in attack-mode all afternoon, as they had 24 shots in the match, 10 of which were on goal.
Cardinal Head Coach Michael O'Neill spoke about his team's performance:
"The game was very scrappy, but we're glad to be coming away with the three points. Malone is normally a very difficult place to play at and today was no different. The girls worked hard, which allowed our quality to shine through in the later stages of the game. We are now looking forward to Sunday's home opener against Northwood."
The league win puts the Cardinals at 3-0-1 overall on the season and 1-0-0 in the GLIAC. Malone falls to 1-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in league play on the season.
The SVSU women return to Braddock Field for their first home match of the 2014 season this Sunday (9/21). The Lady Cards will square-off against Northwood University in a match set to begin at noon. It will be Cardinal Kids Club Day at the contest as well, as members of the SVSU Cardinal Kids Club will walk out on the field with the team for introductions and take part in halftime and on-field promotions.