UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Matty Telfer (Newcastle, England, Sunderland College) delivered a stunning game-winner from his own half of the field in the closing minutes as the Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team defeated Roosevelt 1-0 Friday afternoon at Robert C. Braddock Field. Telfer and the Cardinals handed the Lakers their first loss of the season.
The Cardinals (4-1-4, 2-1-2 GLIAC) and Lakers remained scoreless for more than 86 minutes before Telfer produced the deciding moment. SVSU finished with a 12-7 advantage in shots and held Roosevelt to three shots on goal.
Saginaw Valley created several opportunities early, with Telfer putting a pair of shots on goal during the opening 21 minutes. The Cardinals took seven shots in the first half while holding Roosevelt to two as the teams entered halftime scoreless.
The match remained deadlocked throughout the second half. SVSU generated a stretch of pressure near the 70-minute mark, producing three shots and three corner kicks in just over a minute, but was unable to break through.
Telfer, who had been substituted out in the 64th minute, returned to the field at 80:01. Just over six minutes later, he provided the match's defining moment. From inside his own half, Telfer launched an effort downfield that found the back of the net at 86:09, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead with less than four minutes remaining. It was his eighth goal of the season and his first game-winner.
Roosevelt made one final push, forcing Nick Kay (Walled Lake, Mich., Walled Lake Central HS) into a save with 1:02 remaining before earning two corner kicks in the final 20 seconds. The Cardinal defense held firm to preserve the victory.
Kay finished with three saves to record the clean sheet as the Cardinals have not conceded a goal for three straight matches. Telfer accounted for five of SVSU's 12 shots and all three of the Cardinals' shots on goal. Amadou Kouyate (Ann Arbor, Mich., Community HS) added three attempts as Saginaw Valley finished with an 8-7 advantage in corner kicks.
Head coach Louis Barrow said this after the victory,
"I'm very happy with today's win. We worked really hard and I felt like it neutralized Roosevelt's biggest threats. We controlled the game without the ball for good stretches and when you have a player like Matty Telfer who can have fantastic technical ability in big moments of the game, you can win any game. I'm very happy with the lads work rate today."
Up Next: Cardinal men's soccer is back at home on Sunday, October 4. SVSU hosts St. Cloud State at 11 AM at Robert C. Braddock Field.
