Ferris State Soccer Suffers 4-1 Setback Against Saginaw Valley

Saginaw, Mich. – The Ferris State University women's soccer team suffered a 4-1 road setback against the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals on Friday (Nov. 1) in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.

The Bulldogs (6-5-4, 5-4-2 GLIAC) are fourth in the GLIAC standings after Friday's loss to the Cardinals with three regular season games remaining. FSU faces three teams currently below them in the conference standings to close out their regular season – Roosevelt (ninth), Parkside (eighth) and Purdue Northwest (fifth). Ferris State has previously defeated all three squads earlier this season and will play their final three contests at home in Big Rapids.

In Friday's loss, the Bulldogs scored their lone goal of the game at 24:56 of the first half. Katherine Welch fired a shot from the top of the box off a pass from Isabella Baron and found the back of the net to give FSU a 1-0 lead. The goal was Welch's team-leading fifth of the season, while Baron collected her first assist.

SVSU scored all four of their goals in the second half. Madi Bajis got the first goal for the Cardinals at 49:54 off a free kick at the top of the box. She tied the game 1-1 with her fifth goal of the year.

Later, at 74:08, Sophia Zalucki scored an unassisted goal to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game. Soon after, at 79:47, SVSU took a 3-1 lead with a goal from Stephanie Strong. The Cardinals finalized their 4-1 victory when Rileigh Garbarz scored her fourth goal of the year at 80:51 of the contest. Emma Bradley had an assist on Garbarz's goal.

For the game, Ferris State had seven shots on goal compared to nine for Saginaw Valley. The Bulldogs had five corner kicks and the Cardinals had four.

Individually, Morgan Fillion took the loss for Ferris State, making five saves on nine shots faced. Keelee Griffin replaced Fillion in goal for the final 7:22 of regulation, and she did not face a shot.

Lainey Garbarz registered the win for SVSU, stopping 6-of-7 shots faced in just over 86 minutes of action. Kennedi Pugh saw the remaining 3:29 of play for the Cardinals.

Welch and Reese Carmody each fired two shots on goal for Ferris State. Welch led the way with four total shot attempts and saw 83 minutes of action. Baron, Bella Vallone and Avery Sikorski each played 83 minutes as well.

Brinley Bell and Allison McMahon each received a yellow card in the game for Ferris State, while Bajis received a yellow card for SVSU.

Ferris State will return home for its final three games of the regular season, beginning Sunday (Nov. 3) against Roosevelt. The Lakers will visit Big Rapids for a 1 p.m. (ET) kickoff at the Bulldog Soccer Field and it will mark the first contest between Ferris State and Roosevelt in Big Rapids. FSU previously topped Roosevelt 5-2 in the first ever meeting between the two teams Sept. 20 near Chicago.