The season has not gone the Lady Cardinals’ way.
Coming into last weekends’ games the SVSU women’s soccer team was three games under .500.
A 1-1 split over the weekends brought the team’s record to 5-8 on the year, 3-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Findlay Oilers came on Senior Day, as the team played not only to win but for the four seniors on the team’s roster.
Sophomore Stefanie Klug got the scoring started. In the 18th minute, she took a pass from junior Ashley Henderson and found the back of the net to give SVSU the 1-0 lead.
Findlay tied the game 10 minutes later, when Katelyn Anderson scored off from an assist from Megan Kupetz.
The Cardinals regained the lead five minutes into the second half. Henderson took it herself and scored, making it 2-1, Cards.
Kristin Syrowik tacked on to the SVSU lead in the 71st minute with an unassisted goal of her own.
Senior Kailey Naumcheff was the winning goalkeeper, picking up her second win on the season. She has been solid all year, and is currently ranked second in the conference with just seven goals allowed this year. Strong play from the team limited Findlay’s attempts on goal to just one shot.
Friday’s 2-1 loss to Malone came after two consecutive wins for the Cardinals.
After a scoreless first half, Malone kicked off the scoring in the second at the 63:43 mark. The Pioneers extended their lead at the 84:24 mark with a second goal.
Five minutes later, Henderson put the Cardinals on the board, scoring unassisted at the 89:23 mark. She would finish the day with a team-high four shots, including two on goal.
She is currently tied for second in the GLIAC with 57 shots on the year.
Despite the loss, SVSU was aggressive throughout, outshooting Malone 12-8.
The Lady Cards will finish their season with three straight road games.
The road stretch will start at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, at Northern Michigan.
Henderson said that the team will need to keep fighting as a team in order to finish the season on a high note.
“We just need to bounce back like we’ve been doing over the course of the season,” she said. “We know how to score goals and how to win, so we know what it takes.”
