UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich.- The Saginaw Valley State women's soccer team took down Purdue Northwest on Thursday, 3-0. The Cardinals (9-6-2, 7-4-2 GLIAC) came into the game tied for third in the GLIAC standings while the Lions (5-6-6, 3-5-5 GLIAC) were in eighth.
The first half saw several opportunities for both sides. SVSU put their first four shots on goal. Emily Kolodin (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc HS) had the first shot of the game, but it was saved. Melanie Kolnitys (Midland, Mich., H. H. Dow HS), Jaidyn Veldhouse (Grandville, Mich., Calvin Christian HS), and Abby Ellis (Waterford, Mich., Waterford Mott HS) had the next three shots, which were all saved. PNW got their first shot on goal in the 17th minute, which was saved by Ava Wilberding (Grand Rapids, Mich., Forest Hills Central HS). The teams continued to trade shots, but nobody scored in the first half. Wilberding went into halftime with two saves, while the Cardinals and Lions were locked at 0-0.
Saginaw Valley State got off to a quick start in the second half. Ellis scored her eighth goal of the season, unassisted, in the 48th minute to put the Cardinals ahead, 1-0. Trailing in the second half, the Lions got aggressive, and managed to put a number of shots on goal. Wilberding made her first save of the half in the 62nd minute. She followed that with two more in the 77th and 81st minutes. Meanwhile, SVSU was still on the attack offensively. A shot from PNW was blocked by Ryleigh Gray (Belle River, Ontario, E.J. Lajeunesse), which allowed the Cardinals to flip the field. Ellis found Kolnitys with open space, which she used to notch the second goal of the game for SVSU in the 85th minute. The Cardinals weren't done yet. Savanah Thompson (Howard City, Mich., Tri County HS) sent the ball to Kolodin who beat her defender and the goalkeeper for her second goal of the season with just 38 seconds remaining. The assist was Thompson's first career point. Saginaw Valley State got the win over the Lions, 3-0.
The Cardinals outshot PNW, 26-16 (12-7 on goal). Wilberding recorded seven saves; tying her season-high. Each team was shown a yellow card, while SVSU recorded two more fouls (7-5).
Up Next: Saginaw Valley State will hit the road for their final game of the regular season on Saturday when they play at Roosevelt. The Cardinals are still tied with Davenport at third in the GLIAC standings.
