UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team opened GLIAC play in dominant fashion Wednesday afternoon, defeating Davenport 6-0 at Robert C. Braddock Field.
The Cardinals (3-0-2, 1-0-0 GLIAC) scored four times in the opening 23 minutes and never looked back. Matty Telfer recorded a hat trick and added an assist for a seven-point afternoon, while Jo Bédard scored twice and had an assist as well.
Saginaw Valley wasted little time taking control as Bédard opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Josh Izu and Telfer combined in the box to find Bédard near the penalty spot for the opening goal.
Bédard doubled the lead less than six minutes later, scoring his second of the afternoon in the 14th minute. A shot from Amadou Kouyate was saved and Bédard sent the rebound off a Davenport defender and into the net.
Telfer then took over with two goals in quick succession. Bédard assisted on Telfer's first before Oleksiy Kharko and Cole Cooper combined to set up another, giving SVSU a 4-0 advantage before the midway point of the opening half.
The Cardinals carried the four-goal lead into halftime after outshooting Davenport 9-4 and putting six attempts on goal.
Telfer completed the hat trick in the 58th minute, converting from the penalty spot to extend the lead to 5-0. He finished the afternoon with three goals on four shots on goal along with an assist.
SVSU added one more in the 86th minute when Sora Kozaki scored his first goal as a Cardinal. Cooper picked up his second assist of the match after his cross into the box was headed in by Kozaki. Witse Moulaert earned an assist as well with his pass to Cooper leading to the cross. Seven different Cardinals contributed at least one point in the victory.
The Cardinals finished with a 17-6 advantage in shots and put 11 attempts on goal compared to two for Davenport. SVSU also held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Nick Kay started in goal and made one save over the opening 69:30 before Jack Franklin played the final 20:30 and added a save to complete the combined clean sheet.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley men's soccer is back home on Friday, September 18 to host Northern Michigan. The Cardinals and Wildcats meet for the second time in three games for SVSU after Saginaw Valley won 4-1 ten days ago. It will be their second of three meetings and first of two conference match ups. Kickoff is set for 2 PM at Robert C. Braddock Field.
