Sunday marked the end of the season for the Saginaw Valley women’s soccer team, which suffered a 2-0 loss to University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the NCAA tournament regional semifinal.

UW-Parkside came into the game as the top seed in the Midwest Region and quickly put the Cardinals to work with a strong offensive display.

Sophomore goalkeeper Claire Spleth was strong in the net for the team, saving nine shots on the day. Back-and-forth play in the first half kept both teams in the game fighting strong, but ended the half scoreless.

UW-Parkside came out with the fire it had all season and applied pressure to the Cardinal defense. They finally broke the tie at the 52nd minute on a rebound after two great saves from Spleth.

The 1-0 lead would be all UW-Parkside would need to win the match. However, they did not stop there and continued the high pressure, keeping the Cardinals caged in their own half.

As the second period continued, SVSU fought back, putting several more shots towards the net.

The UW-Parkside defense prevailed and led the team back down the field to score an insurance goal from just inside the box, leading to the final 2-0.

Saginaw Valley was outshot 8-24 in the match and outnumbered in corners 0-9. Juniors Presley Tibbetts and Annie Aubrey led the Cardinals in shots, with three and two shots, respectively.

The weekend began strong for Saginaw Valley with a 1-0 victory over Ohio Dominican in the NCAA tournament regional quarterfinal Friday. It marked the first tournament victory in school history.

Both teams fought for possession and shots in the first half before the period ended with a scoreless tie.

Sophomore Ashley Henderson nearly broke the tie as the half was nearing its conclusion, breaking through the defense to take the shot. However, it struck the crossbar, holding the tie.

The late momentum by the Cardinals carried into the second half as the team continued to apply pressure and work towards the net.

Just after the 60th minute mark, Henderson broke inside the box to take a pass from senior Holly Laser to break the tie, giving SVSU its 1-0 lead.

Ohio Dominican returned to the offensive, adding an additional ten shots in the second half. However, they only managed three shots on net in the entire match.

The victory gave goalkeeper Spleth her ninth shutout of the season and her 11th win of the year.

Henderson ended the season as the team leader in goals with nine and points with 18. Following her in points was sophomore Shelby Watts, who had four goals and two assists.

The team finished the year with a final record of 11-4-3, going 8-2-2 in the conference.