HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team opened GLIAC play with a 2-0 road victory over Michigan Tech on Friday evening at Sherman Field.
The Cardinals (3-2-0, 1-0-0 GLIAC) broke a scoreless match with a pair of second-half goals from freshmen Grace Battershell (Rochester Hills, Mich., Adams HS) and AvaLee Pomper (Richmond, Mich., Memphis Junior/Senior HS), while Ava Wilberding (Grand Rapids, Mich., Forest Hills Central HS) made three saves to record the shutout. SVSU finished with an 18-13 advantage in shots and held the Huskies to just one attempt in the second half.
Michigan Tech generated much of the pressure during the opening half, holding a 12-8 advantage in shots and putting three attempts on goal. Wilberding stopped all three to keep the match scoreless.
The Huskies came closest to breaking through in the 30th minute when an attempt struck the crossbar. Wilberding followed with two more saves later in the half as the teams went into the break tied 0-0.
Saginaw Valley took control after halftime and needed less than five minutes to find the opening goal.
Battershell put the Cardinals in front in the 50th minute, finishing off a two-on-one with Melanie Kolnitys (Midland, Mich., H. H. Dow HS) after a pass from Emma Bradley (Clarkston, Mich., Clarkston HS). The goal was Battershell's second of the season and it was Kolnitys' team-leading eighth point of the year.
SVSU continued to apply pressure following the goal. Emily Kolodin (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc HS) forced a save in the 59th minute before the Cardinals doubled their advantage in the 64th minute.
Abby Ellis (Waterford, Mich., Waterford Mott HS) set up Pomper with service into the box from the left side. The ball bounced around multiple players in the six-yard box before Pomper sent it to the back of the for her first goal of the season.
The Cardinal defense took care of the rest. Michigan Tech managed only one shot over the entire second half and did not put an attempt on goal after halftime as SVSU secured its second consecutive shutout.
Head coach Tyler Channell had this to say after the win,
"A tale of two halves tonight against Michigan Tech. We struggled to get any momentum in the first half and did a good enough job defending to keep them out. We tweaked a few things in the second half but mainly the team mindset switched, and we played fantastic in the second half. It's very difficult to win in the UP no matter who you're playing and to have two freshmen score today was great to see. Onto Northern Michigan on Sunday, which should be another challenging test for us."
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's soccer heads to No. 22 Northern Michigan on Sunday, September 13. The Cardinals and Wildcats are set for a 12 PM kickoff from the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette, Michigan.
