UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team used a late goal from Abby Ellis (Waterford, Mich., Waterford Mott HS) to defeat Parkside 2-1 Friday afternoon at Robert C. Braddock Field.
The Cardinals (7-4-0, 5-2-0 GLIAC) erased a one-goal halftime deficit with two second-half goals before Ellis delivered the game-winner in the 86th minute. SVSU held a 14-13 advantage in shots and placed six attempts on goal.
Parkside opened the scoring at 24:50 to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Rangers held a 6-5 edge in shots during the opening 45 minutes, while Ava Wilberding (Grand Rapids, Mich., Forest Hills Central HS) made one save to keep the Cardinals within a goal.
Saginaw Valley responded just over three minutes into the second half. Kylie Cesarek (Macomb, Mich., Dakota HS) found the back of the net at 48:21 for her fourth goal of the season, leveling the match at 1-1.
The match remained tied into the closing minutes as both sides searched for the go-ahead goal. Wilberding came up with a save in the 85th minute before the Cardinals struck at the other end.
At 85:59, Ellis scored her fifth goal of the season off assists from Wilberding and Melanie Kolnitys (Midland, Mich., H. H. Dow HS), putting SVSU ahead 2-1 with just over four minutes remaining. The goal was Ellis' second game-winner in as many matches after she also scored the opening goal in the Cardinals' 3-0 victory over Michigan Tech.
Ellis led the Cardinal attack with five shots, while Ryleigh Gray (Belle River, Ontario, E.J. Lajeunesse) and Kolnitys each recorded two. Gray put both of her attempts on goal. Wilberding finished with five saves and recorded the secondary assist on the game-winning goal.
SVSU outshot Parkside 9-7 in the second half and finished with four corner kicks to the Rangers' three.
Head coach Tyler Channell said this after the win,
"It was a quality team win today against a quality opponent! The response after going down a goal was great to see as I thought we carried a lot of momentum heading into the half. The early goal helped us establish control of the game and allowed us to get over the line in the end from a great finish from Abby Ellis. Our senior members on our team really stepped up today to get us over the line."
Up Next: Cardinal women's soccer heads on the road for Sunday's match against Purdue Northwest. SVSU and PNW are scheduled for a 1 PM kickoff on October 4 from Dowling Park in Hammond, Indiana.
