Ferris State Suffers 3-0 Home Setback To Top-Ranked Grand Valley State
The Ferris State University women's soccer team opened the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) portion of its 2010 season this Wednesday (Sept. 8), but couldn't contain the nation's top-ranked team as Grand Valley State dealt the Bulldogs a 3-0 loss at the FSU Soccer Field in Big Rapids, Mich.
The loss drops Ferris State's record to 0-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the conference to date this season.
The two West Michigan rivals were engaged in a scoreless tie for the first 21 minutes of the match until Grand Valley State was able to break into the scoring column at 22:07 on a Ashley Botts' tally directly within the goal box in front of the Ferris State net off a crossing pass from Kelsey Fiscus.
Grand Valley State would add two more scores in the second half as the Lakers (3-0-0; 1-0-0 GLIAC) tallied in the 53rd and 71st minutes of the conference match. Erin Mruz picked up the Lakers' second goal at the 53:03 mark off a GVSU corner kick as the ball deflected off senior defender Kristen March (Canton/Plymouth Salem) into the Ferris goal.
The Lakers would connect again at precisely 19 minutes remaining in the match when Kayla Addison produced a goal on a header past freshman goalkeeper Rachel McCollum (Grand Blanc), who turned away a season match-best 10 shots on net in the contest.
For the match, GVSU outshot Ferris State 26-12 and also posted an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Bulldogs chalked up eight shots on goal led by freshman forward Emily Kraska's (Bay City/John Glenn) three total while sophomore midfielder Sam Zerilli (Clinton Township/Chippewa Valley) garnered two shots on the Lakers' net.
Ferris State will now embark on a four-match conference road swing over the next two weeks, beginning this Friday (Sept. 10) against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in University Center, Mich. The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. (EDT) start at the SVSU Soccer Complex.
NOTES - Ferris State is now 5-6-1 (.458) all-time in conference openers and have dropped its last three to date all against Grand Valley State . . . The Bulldogs have registered 26 shots on goal this season in their initial three matches compared to 22 a season ago following their first three appearances . . . FSU has allowed five goals this fall in its first three contests while the 2009 squad gave up 10 goals thru the same time period . . . Goalkeeper Rachel McCollum's 10 saves against Grand Valley State represents a season match high, eclipsing her five stops versus Winona State last Sunday (Sept. 5).
