UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season Friday afternoon, falling 2-1 to Northern Michigan in GLIAC action at Robert C. Braddock Field.
The Cardinals (3-1-2, 1-1-0 GLIAC) played the final 25 minutes down a man but battled back to tie the match before Northern Michigan scored the game-winner in the 88th minute. SVSU finished with a 21-15 advantage in shots and an 8-5 edge in corner kicks.
Northern Michigan opened the scoring off a free kick in the 31st minute to take a 1-0 advantage. Saginaw Valley put three of its five first-half attempts on goal but was unable to find the equalizer.
The Cardinals came out aggressively after the break, recording seven shots and four corner kicks over the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
SVSU was reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when Josh Izu (Lagos, Nigeria) was shown a red card, but the Cardinals continued to push forward despite the disadvantage.
That pressure paid off in the 80th minute. Gabo Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico, DME Academy) struck the crossbar before putting away the rebound seconds later to even the match at 1-1. It was Vazquez's second goal of the season.
The match remained level until Northern Michigan broke through with 2:10 remaining, scoring the deciding goal to hand Saginaw Valley its first defeat of the season.
SVSU outshot the Wildcats 16-9 in the second half despite playing the final 25 minutes with 10 men. Matty Telfer (Newcastle, England, Sunderland College) and Bédard, Jo (Québec City, Canada, St. Andrew's School) each finished with five shots, while Vazquez recorded three attempts and two shots on goal. Kay, Nick (Walled Lake, Mich., Walled Lake Central HS) recorded six saves in the match.
Up Next: Men's soccer heads on the road next week to continue GLIAC play. The Cardinals travel to Purdue Northwest on Friday, September 25 for a 2 PM match before heading to Parkside on Sunday, September 27 to kickoff against the Rangers at 3:30 PM.
