MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer program battled Grand Valley State Friday morning in the GLIAC semifinals, hosted by Northern Michigan. The Cardinals (9-5-6, 6-3-5 GLIAC) tied the Lakers (12-1-7, 8-1-5 GLIAC) 1-1 and advanced via penalty kicks, winning 3-2 in five rounds.
Lainey Garbarz had a career-high 14 saves including two penalty kick opportunities during the match. One in the final minutes of the first half and the other in the second extra time period. Stephanie Strong led with five shots, two on goal, and the lone goal for the Cardinals.
The Lakers held possession for a majority of the first 20 minutes. L. Garbarz stopped key opportunities to keep the match tied. Saginaw Valley started to push back and created their best opportunity off a Grand Valley mistake. A cross from Madi Bajis deflected off a defender and off the post. The loose ball found Strong who buried it in the open net in the 33rd minute. Late in the first half, GVSU had multiple chances including a penalty kick and could not score as L. Garbarz was up to the task totaling eight saves in the first half.
Grand Valley pushed back in the second half and eventually knotted the match on a cross into the box in the 75th minute as the shot from Sarah Fromm was deposited in the bottom left corner. Saginaw Valley held off the attack and had a huge opportunity late when Bajis took a shot from the right side. It beat the keeper but hit the left post and the rebound found Strong but her shot off the left foot went over the net. The teams held strong in the final 10 minutes and the Cardinals went to their second-straight match of extra time.
Two 10-minute periods were not enough to decide who would move on. Grand Valley had the best chance of the extra time periods with a penalty kick in the 103rd minute. Kacy Lauer had the chance to win the match, but the L. Garbarz dove to her right and punched the ball out to save the match. After the horn sounded for the fourth time, the Cardinals and Lakers went to penalty kicks to decide who would play in the GLIAC championship on Sunday.
The Cardinals started the penalty kicks and took the lead as Bajis scored to the left side of the net. Grand Valley's goalkeeper Cailynn Junk took their first shot and scored as well. Rileigh Garbarz took the 2-1 lead with another shot to the left side before the Lakers tied it at 2-2 with a goal. Strong claimed the lead again for SVSU shooting to the left for the third straight time. L. Garbarz made a save in the third round to keep the lead. Lauryn Fracassi's shot hit the post to give GVSU the chance to tie. Another big save from L. Garbarz gave Kyle Ceserak the chance to win it. Junk dove to her left and the shot was down the middle, but the right foot of Junk made the save and gave the Lakers one more chance to come back. The final shot hit the left post and went out as Saginaw Valley advanced to the GLIAC championship.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's soccer will play the winner of Northern Michigan and Davenport for the GLIAC Championship on Sunday. The game kicks off at 2:00 PM EST from NMU Soccer Field in Marquette, Mich.