The SVSU men’s soccer team defeated Purdue Northwest and Tiffin this past weekend.
The Cardinals’ comeback win against Tiffin on Sunday, Oct. 15, marked the team’s 10th win of the season, improving SVSU to 10-2-1 overall.
After falling behind Tiffin 2-0 in the first half, SVSU came storming back in the second half, and Oakley Hanger’s 90th minute goal gave the Cardinals the comeback win in dramatic fashion.
“They got themselves 2-0 up by half time which left us with a huge mountain to climb,” head coach Andy Wagstaff said. “We started the second half very well and created chance after chance. I’m very proud of the team and they showed so much character to come back from 2-0 to win 3-2.”
Senior Matt Wilson and sophomore Michael Hamilton also added goals for SVSU in the second half, as SVSU outshot Tiffin 27-13 and had 12 shots on goal compared to the Dragon’s two.
After the dramatic victory and a Northwood loss Sunday afternoon against Davenport, SVSU finds itself tied with the rival Timberwolves at 7-1-1 in the GLIAC. After two road matches, SVSU hosts Northwood on Oct. 27 to finish out the season.
Against Purdue Northwest on Friday, Oct. 13, SVSU used a balanced offensive attack, featuring four different goal scorers, along with a stifling defense to dominate the Pride 4-0.
“I was very pleased with our mentality and attitude in both attacking and defending (Friday),” Wagstaff said. “In fact, I would say this was a performance that showed sometimes, a team’s best form of defense is to attack. I’m very proud of the desire of our team to want to score goals.”
After Purdue Northwest began the match with a fifth-minute shot from Djordje Cancarevic that went wide, two Cardinals scored their first goals of the 2017 season.
Freshman midfielder Alex Gloshen began the scoring in the 11th minute on a cross from sophomore midfielder Oakley Hanger that put the ball on Gloshen’s foot just two yards out. He scored passed Purdue Northwest goal keeper Noel Keeble.
The strike was Gloshen’s first career goal as a Cardinal.
The next Cardinal goal came in the 35th minute, when freshman midfielder Alberto Teatin found senior forward Griffin Parks for his first goal of the year.
The Purdue Northwest offense struggled for the entire match, mustering just six shots, only one of which was worthy of a Connor Keane save. The match marked Keane’s fifth clean sheet of the season. The Pride entered the match with an overall record of just 3-6-2.
“Defensively, we held strong and looked comfortable all day,” Wagstaff said. “The whole team defended very well front to back.”
In the second half, sophomore forward Michael Hamilton found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season on an assist from junior defender Jake Rosen in the 49th minute. Freshman forward Nick Wright rounded out the scoring for SVSU in the 77th minute, scoring his first career goal to seal the win.
“We showed a lot of creativity and quality (Friday) in the final third,” junior forward Michael Shaikly said. “Our success came from pressing them high up the field, our energy was so high and we won the ball back in situations from which we could counter them straight away.”
Prior to the season-ending game against Northwood, SVSU travels to Davenport on Friday, Oct. 20, before heading to Ashland on Sunday, Oct. 22.
