UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team rallied past Davenport University to survive the opening round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament on Tuesday at Braddock Field.
The No. 3 seed Cardinals fell behind 1-0 to the No. 6 seed Panthers in the first half before netting the equalizer in the 75th minute, sending the game to overtime. Rileigh Garbarz scored 6:23 into the first extra frame and the Cardinals held on for the 2-1 win to advance to the GLIAC Semifinals.
The Cardinals enter the semifinals with a record of 11-5-3 overall. SVSU will face off against Northern Michigan University on Friday with the time and location to be determined. The Cardinals and Wildcats split the regular season series with each team winning at home.
Against Davenport, SVSU trailed 1-0 in the 31st minute after a goal from Haley Diekevers. Despite a heavy advantage in shots, the Cardinals were unable to find a goal to tie the score until Madi Bajis collected a pass from Sarah Fredrick with under 16 minutes to play to tie the game.
The Cardinals took their first lead of the game in the 97th minute on the fifth goal of the season from Garbarz on an assist from Larissa Barnett. SVSU held on to the narrow lead through the second overtime period and claimed the win.
SVSU outshot Davenport 27-11 and held a 14-6 advantage in corner kicks. Kennedi Pugh earned the win in net for the Cardinals with seven saves.
