Two Early Second-Half Goals Lift Ferris State Soccer Past Malone On Homecoming Weekend

Two Early Second-Half Goals Lift Ferris State Soccer Past Malone On Homecoming Weekend

Big Rapids, Mich. - Two early second-half goals and one of the squad's top all-around performances of the season lifted the Ferris State University women's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout victory over visiting Malone on Sunday (Oct. 5) at the FSU Soccer Field.

The Bulldogs wrapped up a busy homecoming weekend slate by topping the Pioneers in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action on a cold and windy afternoon in Big Rapids.

After a scoreless opening half, Ferris State took the initial advantage only 5:24 into the second frame when forward Meredith Smith notched her first goal of the campaign on a shot near the net off a pass from junior forward Casey Shauman.

Then, 15 minutes later, the Bulldogs pushed their advantage to two goals on Hunter Dolan's first goal of the year on a long shot off a rebound. Shauman had the initial shot for the Bulldogs, which deflected off a Malone player in front of the net before senior Leanne Boehm made the extra pass to Dolan for the deep shot.

The two goals came after a first half in which FSU posted a decided edge in total shots with 18 compared to nine for the Pioneers. Ferris State also had 15 opportunities in half two to nine for Malone and finished with a 33-18 margin in total attempts for the afternoon.

In addition to holding a significant margin in total shots, the Bulldogs also had 13 corner kick tries to only three for Malone. The total included four consecutive corners in one stretch late in the first half of action.

Additionally, Ferris State also finished the contest with a 12-6 advantage in total shots on goal.

The Bulldogs' Maddie Haustein made the start in net for Ferris State and posted three saves in 45 minutes of action. Savanna Wojtanowski came on in relief in the second half and also made three saves to aid the Bulldog cause.

On the Malone side, Kari Naylor had 10 total saves for the Pioneers.

Overall, Smith paced the Bulldogs with seven total shots while four of Shauman's five attempts were on net for FSU. Boehm also finished with five shots.

The Pioneers were called for 10 fouls to seven for Ferris State.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-5-2 overall and 1-3-1 in conference play while Malone fell to 1-8-0 overall and 0-6-0 in league action. All but one of FSU's setbacks this season has come by a single goal.

Ferris State will be back in action on Friday (Oct. 10) as FSU ventures to University Center to square off against Saginaw Valley State starting at 1 p.m. (ET).

Following Friday's contest on the road, FSU returns home to host Northwood on Sunday, Oct. 12, beginning at 1 p.m. (ET) at the Ferris State Soccer Field.