CSU, Detroit and Valpo Capture Wins on Saturday in #HLWSOC

Women's Soccer Scoreboard (Oct. 18)
Cleveland State 1, UIC 0 (2OT)
Detroit 3, Green Bay 2 (OT)
Valparaiso 2, Wright State 1
Milwaukee 0, Oakland 0 (2OT)

Cleveland State 1, UIC 0
The Cleveland State women's soccer team extended its win streak to three matches Saturday evening, notching a 1-0 double overtime victory against UIC. The Vikings are now 8-6-2 overall this season and 3-2-1 in Horizon League play.

Cleveland State's game winner came from Katie Bainbridge in the 105th minute. The goal was Bainbridge's first of her collegiate career.

After playing to a scoreless tie after regulation and the first overtime period, Bainbridge was finally able to put the goal in the back of the net when she had a shot from the top of the box and beat the keeper to the far right side. Haleigh Shingary recorded the assist on the play, her third assist on the season.

The Vikings held a major advantage in shots during the contest, posting 21 total shots to three for UIC. CSU also held the advantage in shots on goal, 9-0. CSU recorded 13 of its shots during the first half when the Vikings controlled play for the majority of the frame.

Allie Sieradzki recorded a team-high six shots on the contest, while seven other Vikings recorded two shots.

Sarah Wood picked up her eighth win of the season in goal for the Vikings.

Detroit 3, Green Bay 2
Senior Alyssa Riley (Whitby, Ont. / Father Leo J. Austin) scored on a header with 3:39 left in the first overtime period Saturday to lift the University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team to a thrilling 3-2 win over host Green Bay at Santaga Stadium.

The Titans (7-5-1 overall) improved to 4-1 in the Horizon League standings with the victory and remain in second place behind Valparaiso. Detroit also earned its third conference win in overtime as UDM defeated Wright State and UIC earlier this season.

"Green Bay really came at us hard," Detroit head coach Mike Lupenec said after the game. "They are one of the better offensive teams in our conference this year. Any time you are playing away from home against a good team, it's great to get a win. The bottom line is to beat a good team at their place, it'll help us going forward. In the next three (league) games, we're looking to win the conference. I'm proud of the girls. In overtime, we were looking to win the game."

The match was a back-and-forth battle all day between the Titans and Phoenix. Green Bay took the lead early in the contest after scoring in the 21st minute. The Titans responded just minutes later as sophomore Anna Mindling (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian) scored on a rebound after Riley's header was saved. Mindling's second goal of the season tied the match 1-1 in the 27th minute.

Green Bay had 12 shots on goal in the first half, but Detroit freshman goalkeeper Marina Manzo (Washington Township, Mich. / Romeo) made 11 saves in net in the opening 45 minutes to help keep the score knotted 1-1 at the break.

Detroit took advantage in the opening minutes of the second half, taking the lead 2-1 on a goal by junior Sara Zawacki (Dearborn, Mich. / Marian). After receiving a pass from junior Jennifer Borawski (Northville, Mich. / Northville), Zawacki buried the shot for her first goal of the season in the 51st minute.

Green Bay knotted the match after the Phoenix was awarded a penalty kick in the 77th minute. Karina Fredette scored for Green Bay to square the match up again, 2-2. Detroit went into its third overtime match in five league games after neither team could score in the final minutes of regulation.

In overtime, Detroit had the only two shots and past the midway point of the overtime session, senior Haley Burtraw (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester) found Riley on a cross into the box. Riley scored the game-winning goal, knocking it to the left of Green Bay goalkeeper Nastacia Behle. The goal was Riley's fourth game-winner of the year.

Manzo made 13 saves in net, which was the most by a Titan goalkeeper in more than five seasons. Manzo's 13 saves were the most since Joanne Hinde turned away 14 shots against Hawaii on Sept. 24, 2009. Manzo faced 22 shots overall on the day as Green Bay out-shot the Titans, 22-9.

Riley reached several milestones on the afternoon. The goal was her sixth of the season, which matched a career high for goals in a season that she also reached in both 2011 and 2013. Riley had two assists on the day and has 14 career helpers, tying her for eighth all-time in the record book with Abby McCollum (2010-13) and Miriam Cavanaugh (1993-96). She also moved into 11th all-time in points as she reached the 50-point plateau with her four-point effort Saturday.

Riley also moved into a tie for third all-time with her seventh career game-winning goal. She has four game-winning goals this season, which is the most in a season since Mary Parker had five game winners in 2006.

Valparaiso 2, Wright State 1
The Valparaiso women’s soccer team extended its incredible run of form Saturday afternoon in Horizon League play at Wright State, overcoming an early one-goal deficit thanks to goals from April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) and Vanesa Abad (Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich [Ohio State]) to down the Raiders 2-1.  The victory secures a spot in the Horizon League Championship field for the Crusaders.

With the win, the Crusaders maintained their spot atop the league table, as they now are a perfect 5-0-0 in Horizon League play.  With 15 points, Valpo is currently three points clear of Detroit, five points clear of Cleveland State - with a game in hand over the Vikings - and eight points clear of the rest of the field.

The win was the seventh consecutive for the Crusader side, leaving this year’s team just one victory shy of matching the 2006 team’s school-record stretch of eight straight wins.  In addition, Saturday’s victory extends the team’s program-record unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive matches (9-0-4).

Valpo controlled Saturday’s matchup with the Raiders early on, firing four shot attempts in the first 13 minutes, including one that needed to be cleared off the line by a WSU defender.  But it would be Wright State which cracked the scoreboard first, as Natalie Sedlock let a shot rip from over 30 yards out in the 15th minute, an effort which moved around in the wind and found its way into the back of the net to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

The Crusaders continued to push, now looking for the equalizer, and the tying goal would eventually come in the 29th minute.  A clearance came out around midfield, where Cronin was able to gain possession.  The sophomore took it herself, beating a Wright State defender up the middle of the field, and was able to finish past WSU goalkeeper Halle Pyle to make it a 1-1 game.  For Cronin, it was her fifth goal of the season, tying her for team-high honors.

"I thought our team responded quite well to adversity on the road today after giving away a goal early," said Crusader head coach John Marovich.  "I thought we stayed settled and didn't panic.  We found ourselves a goal before the half, which felt critical at that point."

Out of the halftime break, it took the Crusaders less than four minutes to bury the eventual match-winner.  Sophomore Sydney Rumple (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Central Catholic) won the ball on the edge of the box and took a touch, getting a WSU defender on her back.  Rumple laid the ball off towards the near post to a cutting Abad, who took her shot well to beat Pyle and put the Crusaders on top 2-1.  The fourth goal of the season for Abad, it was her first career match-winning effort.

"Sydney has been working extremely hard all season long, and took advantage when she got an opportunity today," said Marovich.  "She was quality in what she did inside the 18-yard box to get it to Vanesa.  We also have to give a lot of kudos to Vanesa, because the play started with her 25-yard sprint back to keep a ball in which looked like it was going out - it obviously ended up leading to the goal, and I think it's fitting that she ended up the one scoring it."

The Crusaders dealt well with the Wright State pressure following the go-ahead tally, as despite the fact the Raiders registered ten shot attempts with the wind at their back in the second half, only two of them were on goal.  Sydney Galvez-Daley (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick [Creighton]) made both saves to earn the win for the Crusaders, while Pyle took the loss for Wright State (5-9-1, 2-3-1  Horizon).  The Raiders out-shot Valpo for the match, 12-10, the first time this season the Crusaders have been on the wrong end of the shot totals.

"In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we really came out determined," said Marovich.  "We had a nice run, got into the attacking third and got the goal to go ahead.  At that point, we had the wind in our face, and we did a really good job to be able to kill the game off with the pressure that Wright State was putting on."

Milwaukee 0, Oakland 0
Despite outshooting its opponent and holding a significant edge in possession, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team had to settle for a scoreless draw Saturday afternoon with Oakland University at Engelmann Stadium.

In a rematch of last year's conference tournament final, Milwaukee (5-9-2, 1-3-2 Horizon) blasted off 11 shots, including seven in an exciting second half but just couldn't crack the Oakland (4-9-2, 2-2-1) defense.

"I'm proud of the team for working hard all game today to earn this shutout," Milwaukee head coach Greg Henschel said. "We've had a great run of play. The team is struggling a little to find the back of the net the past few games. We did have plenty of chances to score and we have the past few games and it's just something we have to work through right now."

After a bit of slow start, Milwaukee went right at the Golden Grizzlies, playing with more confidence as the game went on.

The Panthers dominated the second half, with a slew of chances throughout, started by a great through ball from the left wing through the box by senior Amy Kauffung but an Oakland defender just got a toe to it before it reached the rest of the UWM attack.

Maria Stephans had her shot blocked in the 68th minute but the rebound went right to senior Caity Bestwina. The defender took one touch before firing a low liner from outside the box that looked like it was heading for the bottom corner of the net, only to see Golden Grizzly keeper Alison Holland make a diving save on the ball.

Just a few minutes later, a great buildup saw Krissy Dorre play a beautiful ball through the defense to Kelly Lewers. Lewers had to rush her shot before the on-rushing keeper got there and with a defender on her back, her one-touch went just wide of the frame.

Oakland had its most threatening chance of the game in the 77th minute. Countering off Milwaukee's numbers on offense, the Golden Grizzlies' Vlad Gurovski had a one-on-one with UWM keeper Paige Lincicum from about 30 yards out. Lincicum made a phenomenal save point blank on Gurovski and followed that up with another great grab on Joan Sieja's attempt on goal to keep the clean sheet.

Milwaukee continued to look for the winner late in the game. Morgan LaPlant had a great opportunity in the 81st minute, but her blast from inside the box was poked over by Holland.

The Panthers had the two best opportunities in extra time, but both Dorre and Sydney Senn saw their shots sail over the crossbar.

UWM outshot Oakland, 11-8 on the day and held a 7-5 edge in corners. Both keepers were created with a pair of saves on the day, while Oakland was whistled for 20 fouls to Milwaukee's 19.