UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer program hosted Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon for the regular season finale. The Cardinals (8-5-5, 6-3-5 GLIAC) held strong to tie the Wildcats (11-3-4, 9-2-3 GLIAC) 1-1 and clinch home field advantage in the GLIAC Quarterfinal round on Tuesday, November 12.

SVSU was outshot 27-9 as NMU had 11 shots on goal to the Cardinals six. Saginaw Valley was led in chances by Rileigh Garbarz with three shots, two on goal, and Stephanie Strong had the lone tally for the Cardinals on her one shot. Lainey Garbarz played all 90 minutes in goal for SVSU totaling 10 saves with some crucial stops down the stretch.

After a tense but scoreless first half, Strong broke open the scoring in the 55th minute. Cutting between two defenders, Strong got the ball on her left foot on the left side of the 18-yard box and her shot beat the keeper across the field to the top-right corner. Strong's fourth goal of the season and 31st of her career gave the Cardinals the lead for just over five minutes. Northern Michigan tied the game in the 62nd minute after a corner kick was crossed into the box. A couple of headers kept the play alive until Maria Storm's header found its way to the back of the net.

The Wildcats pushed in the tail end as they tallied 15 shots in the second half. L. Garbarz made multiple big stops, including two on back-to-back chances from point blank. The Cardinals found opportunities as well with Strong, R. Garbarz, and Madi Bajis generating offense on the other end of the field. Neither team could break the tie, and both earned one point in the conference standings.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's soccer awaits seeding for the GLIAC tournament but will be either the third or fourth seed and host their Quarterfinal match on Tuesday, November 12. The opponent and time is yet to be determined.