Men's And Women's Soccer Teams Both Advance To The GLIAC Finals This Year

By Anthony Fontana

Both the Cardinals men’s and women’s soccer teams experienced an up and down season in the fall. Both teams had a chance at redemption when each advanced all the way to the championship match of the GLIAC tournament.

Neither team was fully able to complete the upset as the men’s team lost to Findlay by the final score of 4-2, while the women’s team dropped a 2-0 decision to Grand Valley State.

The men were at a disadvantage to start the game, as they were with out two of their top players. Senior forward Brent Walker received his fifth yellow card of the season in the semifinal match against Ashland, meaning he would have to sit out the championship game. Senior defender Daniel Wragg received two yellow cards in the Ashland game, which also knocked him out of the championship game.

In the championship game, the men dug themselves into an early 2-0 deficit. Junior defender Brock Humphries cut the deficit in half at the 28:59 mark, although Findlay would answer back a few minutes later to take a commanding 3-1 lead into the half. The teams traded goals in the second half to complete the scoring. After the game, Walker talked about how proud he was of his team.

“We had to battle through a lot of ups and downs this season. Making it to the GLIAC finals was amazing considering we didn’t even think that we were going to make the tournament. It just shows the potential the guys had.” Walker said.

Walker was especially upset at the fact that he was unable to help his team out in the biggest game of the year.

“It was a really big disappointment. I have played here for four years and put a lot into it. Not being able to play was very tough. I wanted to win so badly but it’s a part of the sport so it’s just something that I have to accept.

The women were unable to generate any offense when they faced off against the number one ranked Lakers. The Lakers led 1-0 going into halftime and would later add another goal in the second half to complete the scoring. The Cards only managed to get off three shots for the game. Even though her team lost, senior midfielder Stephanie Roy was still proud of the way her team played in the championship match.

“After a season full of ups and downs, there was never any doubt in my mind that we would make it to the finals and have one last chance to make the playoffs. I was extremely proud of the team. It’s a long season and it says a lot of about the character of the team to give it everything they have all the way to the finals.” Roy said.

Freshman goalkeeper Anne Bershbach was able to stop six of the eight shots she faced, although her offense wasn’t able to provide any support against the tough Laker defense.

“Grand Valley is a great team.” Roy said. “They didn’t become the number one team in the nation for no reason. We knew coming into the game that we would have to take advantage of every opportunity because they would be few and far between. Everyone worked as hard as they could for the full 90 minutes and that’s all we can ask for.”

With the losses, the women’s record dropped to 10-9 overall for the season. The men’s record fell to 8-10-2 for the season.