Saginaw Valley has officially made it to the midway point of the season and has been impressing head coach Michael O’Neill.
“We are officially half way through our season and the team is continuing to improve each and every game,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill has also been impressed with the performance of his team this season.
“I have been here for seven years and this group could be the grittiest of them all,” O’Neill said. “They put in a ton of hours this summer working on improving physically, technically and just spending time with each other, secondly they are all extremely competitive individuals who love a challenge.”
SVSU needed their grit when the team faced its two biggest challenges over the past week facing off against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponents Ferris State and Grand Valley State.
In their first game of the week on Oct. 10 the Cardinals faced off with the ninth ranked Bulldogs from Ferris State university in Big Rapids.
Coming into this matchup, Ferris State had only one game where they had been kept off of the scoreboard.
Saginaw Valley did not have a strong offensive showing, only taking six shots on goal for the entire game, all three off of the foot of freshman forward Reegan Kingpavong.
Defensive play was the highlight of the game for the Cardinals as they were able to force eight corner kicks while holding the Bulldogs to six shots.
Senior goalkeeper Olivia Argeros earned GLIAC player of the week (POTW) for her clean sheet against Ferris State.
Argeros stopped all six shots that she faced during the 110 minutes of the game helping the Cardinals to a draw following the two scoreless overtimes.
Saginaw Valley followed up their draw with a home match against first ranked Grand Valley State.
Freshman midfielder Stephanie Strong got the Cardinals on the board first with a goal in the 31st minute of the game coming off of an assist from freshman midfielder Ashley Myall.
Strongs’ goal was the only one for either side in the first half as the Cardinals were leading 1-0 at the start of the second half.
Grand Valley was able to find the back of the net in the 46th and 63rd minute, giving them a 2-1 lead.
Freshman midfielder Gabby Green assisted a goal by Kingpavong in the 84th minute tying the game at two.
In the 89th minute the Lakers were able to score their third goal of the game which gave them the 3-2 win over the Cardinals.
O’Neill is ready for his team to finish the rest of the season on the right foot.
“Lots of soccer to be played and we hope to see all out at Braddock field soon,” O’Neill said.
SVSU will continue their season on Oct. 19 against Northwood with a rescheduled game from Oct. 8 followed by a home match with Davenport on Oct. 22.
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