Women tie Northern, remain in GLIAC contention

September 24, 2007 —

After six hours on a bus, the most disappointing way a soccer game can end is in a draw. Unfortunately, that's what happened in Marquette on Sunday to the women's soccer team, as the Cardinals tied Northern Michigan 1-1 after two scoreless overtime periods.

SVSU's lone goal was scored by junior midfielder Stephanie Roy on service from sophomore forward Jaclyn Barret in the 28th minute.

The goal came 13 minutes after Northern scored in the 15th minute on a goal by Casey Wilcox, who scored unassisted.

The game's MVP was unquestionably senior goalkeeper Stacy LaLond, who played for the entire 90-minute regulation period and both overtime periods. She logged a season-high 15 saves on the night. Opposing keeper Kara Music's hand was only forced five times for the entire duration of the game.

But LaLond's watertight goal was not enough to propel the Cards past Northern, who fired off 17 shots through SVSU's porous defense. For their part, the Wildcats only converted once on 13 attempts.

The Cards' offense was led by the usual suspects: goalscorer Roy and junior forward Kim Oberski led the team with five shots apiece. Barret, who assisted Roy on the score, logged two shots of her own. Junior forward Tammie Edmunds managed to record one shot on goal, well short of her normal output.

Northern harassed SVSU's net all game, putting up 17 shots, 16 of which found the target and forced LaLond off her line. The Wildcats' offense was led by freshman forward Kari Buckel, who challenged LaLond four times. Senior midfielder Amanda Gadomski logged three shots on LaLond's net. Northern scattered nine more shots on SVSU's hapless defense.

The tie brings SVSU to 4-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the GLIAC. The Cats are up to 4-2-2 overall and 1-1-2 in the conference.

The Cardinals round out September with two non-conference games against St. Louis and Rolla in Indianpolis on Sept. 28 and 29. Their roadtrip will continue after a two-week break against Ferris on Oct. 12. The conference schedule also resumes against Ferris, who is currently 1-6 overall.

Even after the disappointing loss to Mercyhurst two weeks ago, the team's hopes of winning the GLIAC are not totally extinguished.

But the Cards must regroup and defeat some teams that are far more potent than Northern in order to do so.