Ferris State Women's Soccer Defeats Saginaw Valley State 2-0
The Ferris State University women's soccer team came out aggressive early and controlled the momentum throughout the 90 minutes en route to a 2-0 victory over the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals this Friday (Oct. 8) afternoon in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tilt at FSU's Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich.
The Bulldogs, who were making their first appearance on the turf at Top Taggart Field this fall, improved to 5-5-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the GLIAC North Division as a result of the conference home victory. Saginaw Valley State falls to 6-4-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the GLIAC North Division with the loss.
Junior forward Bri Borgman (Holland/West Ottawa) recorded her team-leading seventh goal of the season with an unassisted goal at the 36:22 mark of the opening half. Borgman netted the game winner with a shot in the goal box from the left side which was able to skip underneath SVSU's goalkeeper Anne Berschbach into the Cardinal goal giving Ferris State a 1-0 lead. Borgman dribbled the ball up the field at least 20 yards before firing a shot toward the Saginaw Valley State net.
While Borgman led the offensive charge, freshman goalkeeper Rachel McCollum (Grand Blanc) kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard by saving all five shots on goal which she faced in the 90 minutes. McCollum evened her season mark to 5-5-1 this fall while goalkeeper Anne Berschbach accumulated nine saves for the visiting Cardinals.
Ferris State maintained its one-goal lead until 4:18 remaining in the match when freshman forward Emily Kraska (Bay City/John Glenn) tallied her first collegiate goal on an assist from freshman midfielder Courtney Ratz (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), who fed the ball up the middle of the field to Kraska. Kraska scored off a rebound shot which deflected off Anne Berschbach and went over the Cardinals' goalkeeper into the net for an insurance marker. The helper by Ratz also represented her first collegiate point in a Ferris State uniform.
Each team concluded the contest with 12 shots apiece as the Bulldogs held an 8-4 advantage in the opening 45 minutes of action while the Cardinals reversed the lead in their favor for the second half. Both teams also had three corner kicks apiece.
Ferris State racked up 11 shots on goal for the match and Saginaw Valley State produced five total.
The win by the Bulldogs avenged an earlier season (Sept. 10) 1-0 loss to Saginaw Valley State at University Center, Mich.
The Bulldogs, who presently sport a 5-1-1 mark in their last seven outings, host the Northwood Timberwolves this Sunday (Oct. 10) in Big Rapids. A 12 p.m. (EDT) start is scheduled for the GLIAC North Division matchup between the two teams.
