UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the 2024 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll on Tuesday (August 20) afternoon.
The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer program placed third in the poll as they totaled 47 points. They sit behind Northern Michigan with 62 (6) and Grand Valley State with 58 (3). The Cardinals are two points ahead of Ferris State for fourth with Parkside and Michigan Tech having 32 and 31 points respectively. Davenport takes seventh with 26 while Purdue Northwest has 13 and the GLIAC newcomer, Roosevelt, places ninth with 10 points.
The Cardinals are coming off a 9-5-5 season with a 6-3-5 conference record in 2023. They fell to Ferris State in the GLIAC Quarterfinal but also posted an astounding six-game shutout streak. It took nearly a month for a team to score a goal against SVSU as Grand Valley scored on September 17 and then Purdue Northwest ended the streak on October 15.
The team returns some major pieces with five seniors and nine juniors. There are also six sophomores and a redshirt-freshman returning to make up the 21 returning players for the Cardinals. Nine incoming freshmen along with a sophomore and graduate transfer round out the 11 new faces for the 32-player roster.
"We've got a big group of new players." head coach Tyler Channell said. "Grace Miller is one of the standouts because she's a division one transfer. We also have a plethora of freshman who are looking like they've already been here for a couple years."
Madi Bajis returns after tying the team lead in goals with six and points with 15 in 2023. Stephanie Strong enters her senior year after tying Bajis with 15 points and led the team with five assists, 65 shots, and 37 on goal. Goalkeepers Lainey Garbarz and Kennedi Pugh both return after splitting time last season. Garbarz had six shutouts and shared one with Gabby Green during the six-game scoreless stretch against the Cardinal defense.
Channell enters his third year behind the helm and brings with him assistant coaches Bridget Symborski, Ashley Myall, and recent SVSU women's soccer alumna, Larissa Barnett. Channell holds a 20-11-8 overall record with a 14-7-7 GLIAC record as a head coach. He is 1-2 in the GLIAC tournament making it to the semifinals in 2022 and the quarterfinals in 2023.
Women's soccer has nine regular season home games this year. They start on the road at Quincy and at Truman on September 6 and 8 before hosting Ashland on Friday, September 13 for their first home game of the season. Findlay heads to Saginaw Valley on September 15 to wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Cardinals host the Purdue Northwest Pride the following week to start GLIAC play. 14 conference games will end the season with seven at home as the team will play home and away against six of the GLIAC opponents while they host Ferris State and head to Roosevelt this year.
"We play in a really difficult conference, and it shows." Channell said. "The girls are prepared because every single game it doesn't matter if you're playing at the top or bottom of the table, you need to make sure you're ready to go. We're ready for a dog fight and that's what every game is. There are no games that you turn up and win six or seven zero."