Women unable to capitalize on shots, shutout by Northern

October 9, 2006 —

Off the heels of a dominating performance against Northwood on Thursday, the SVSU women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Northern Michigan on Sunday.

The loss came despite the Cardinals' ability to control play throughout the match and consistently place balls on target, but solid defending from the opposing Wildcats and an impressive nine saves logged by Northern keeper Kara Music kept the Cards one down.

The game was especially disappointing for the women, because with the loss, SVSU fell into fourth behind Northern Michigan in the GLIAC.

Head coach Drago Dumbovic knew the season was on the line.

"It's a really devastating blow for us," he said. "We can finish 6-2, but obviously, our goal was to win the GLIAC."

The game opened with sophomore attacker Tammie Edmunds immediately threatening the Wildcats' goal with a shot in the second minute.

What developed shortly afterward could only be accurately called an onslaught.

The Cards recorded five shots on target within the next eight minutes of play, all of which forced the freshman keeper Music off of her line to make the save. A header from Edmunds off of a corner service from sophomore midfielder Stephanie Roy nearly put the Cards up early.

The missed opportunities early on may have cost SVSU the game, but to their credit, the Wildcats never gave up. They managed to open up the game a little bit as the first half progressed, recording three shots on goal even as they were assaulted by SVSU's 14 attempts on the net, making Music's clean sheet even more impressive.

"We have to give praise to Northern," Dumbovic said. "They came in and fought very, very hard. They played very good defense."

The second period was to be the decisive one. Northern started off strong, recording six shots within 15 minutes. After a shot off of the woodwork from sophomore forward Kim Oberski almost put the Cards up, Northern finally finished an attack with a shot from freshman defender Celia Sturos.

The Cards would not be able to turn the tides after conceding the goal, and despite constant and consistent service into the penalty area from the wings and the midfield, they could not convert.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in the GLIAC, while the Wildcats improved to 4-2 in the conference and 11-3 overall. On Saturday, SVSU visits 2-3 Ashland, losers of a 2-0 decision to #17 Grand Valley yesterday.