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Printer-Friendly ModeWomen bounce back against Ferris day after loss to GV
October 23, 2006 —
The SVSU women's soccer squad finished their season in spectacular fashion on Sunday, dominating Ferris State in a lopsided 6-0 contest.
The win came off a heartbreaking 5-0 loss to Grand Valley State on Saturday, one in which the Lakers' lock-tight defense prevented the Cardinals from mounting any serious attack.
"Grand Valley is ranked seventh in the country and their talent is just superb," SVSU head coach Drago Dumbovic said.
SVSU opened up the scoring against Ferris within just two minutes, as sophomore forward Kim Oberski scored unassisted at the 1:30 mark. Oberksi has performed quite well this season, scoring nine goals and assisting on 10. Fellow attackers freshman Jackie Barrett and sophomore Tammie Edmunds have also posted impressive numbers, scoring 12 and 14 times, respectively.
Younger players like Edmunds and Oberski show great promise and may very well be the key to even better seasons in the future. Understandably, Dumbovic didn't want to wait.
"The first season we went 0-8," he said. "The next seasons we went 5-3, 6-2, and 5-3 again. We wanted to win the championship with this group."
Oberski had high aspirations as well.
"We had really high hopes for this season," she said. "We really thought we would go 8-0, so 5-3 is a disappointment. But at least we finished 5-3 and not 4-4. Next year, we've already decided we're going to win the league."
The whole team should look forward to the future if the younger players continue to post good numbers.
The Cards continued to press the attack after Oberski's opening volley, managing to log four more shots before 10 minutes had passed. To their credit, the Bulldogs troubled SVSU's veteran keeper Stacy LaLond early on, forcing her off her line once with a shot from Stephanie Salow.
The game eventually bogged down in the midfield, which began to more closely resemble a mud bath as the soaked pitch churned under the players' feet. Ferris slowly began to take control of the pace, and managed to record five shots in a row, four of which were on target. LaLond came up big for the Cards, maintaining her clean sheet and making four saves.
Despite the Bulldogs perseverance, they couldn't convert, and SVSU punished them for it on the counterattack with a goal from freshman forward Heather Klenk off of the excellent service of Oberski. Klenk has assumed the role of a super-sub with clutch performances all year long, and is another young player that will be essential to the team's future success.
The remainder of the first half proved relatively uneventful, but the Cardinals emerged from the break with more momentum and immediately capitalized by sending Oberski through, who converted on a pass from Barrett, bringing the contest to 3-0 and severely dampening the Bulldogs' chances of a comeback.
Ten minutes later, the Cards would effectively seal the victory with a penalty kick awarded to Edmunds, who effortlessly converted. The squad capped off the victory with two more goals, courtesy of junior defenders Katie Hess and Eliza Jones. Jones and Hess are likely to be leaders in the upcoming season, as their staunch defense has been essential to the group's success this year.
The emotional victory signaled the end of the Cards' run at the GLIAC title. SVSU finished fourth in the conference, behind Mercyhurst, Grand Valley and Northern. They finished 12-7 overall. The squad hosts five seniors, including LaLond, who proved critical for the entire season. She recorded 100 saves on the season, including nine against Grand Valley on Saturday. She only allowed an average of one goal per game, giving freshman goalkeeping prospect Leann Golimbieski quite the pair of cleats to fill.
Other graduating members of the squad include forward Kelly Pruitt, defender Julie-Anne Riggs, and midfielder Jessica Gibson. Oberski mentioned that the off-season recruiting efforts will be essential to negate the loss of quality players.
"Hopefully we can get some more girls for forwards, and we need some more defenders," she said.
At the end of yesterday's game, though, Dumbovic was focused on this year's team.
"In the last game of the season there are always so many emotions and feelings," Dumbovic said. "Look at our kids, they're excited. They really made these people come to watch because they know (there are) going to be great games and excitement. I'm really proud of them."
After the game, the teams shook hands and some members celebrated by diving in the mud on the field, a reminder that the game is not just about winning, but also about building character and enjoying one's self.
"What they're getting from university," Dumbovic said, "is outstanding - a paper, a document - but the leadership skill they develop on a team is not on paper."
Staff writer Mary Oakley contributed to this article.