BLOG 8: Gibson proud of team’s effort against No. 1 Grand Valley

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State’s Bri Borgman (10) tries to maintain control of her dribble against Grand Valley State’s Jenna Wenglinski (15) during Sunday afternoon’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the FSU Soccer Field (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris State University, already this season, has been in way too many tough matches to feel even the slightest bit of intimidation – regardless of its opponent.

That once again proved to be the case on Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs hosted archrival and No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State on a soggy FSU Soccer Field – with parts of the surface muddy messes or partially submerged. In spite of the field conditions and the daunting task of facing GVSU, Ferris put up quite a fight before it fell on the short end of a 3-0 loss to a Laker team that proved itself to be more than worthy of its high national ranking.

“There are really no words for me to come up with to describe how proud I am of our ladies and how well they performed in this (game) against one of the best teams in the nation,” Ferris head coach Neathan Gibson said as his team played to near the point of exhaustion in its bid for an upset. “Everyone was working hard and out there supporting each other and it came down to a few plays here and there that made the difference in (the match).”

The Lakers held a 1-0 lead at the end of the first 45 minutes as Irie Dennis scored her fifth goal of the season on a shot off the right post (assisted by Katy Tafler) at 8:36.

In the second half, Tafler scored her fourth of the season on a header off a corner kick (assisted by Joyce Rose) for a 2-0 lead at 56:45.

Ferris had a penalty-kick opportunity, but Maegan Smith’s attempt was deflected by a diving GVSU goalkeeper Kristina Nasturzio. More importantly, the Lakers kept the ball in play and seconds later got an unassisted goal from Erika Pitroff, her first of the season, to build the lead to 3-0 at 82:28.

That goal sealed the deal as the Bulldogs drop to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings.

“I’m very proud of the girls and how hard they played and how much they gave to their effort out there,” said Gibson, whose team hung tough in spite of being outshot 36-9 as goalkeeper Becci Houdek totaled 15 saves against the 18shots on goal she faced. “Now we have to keep working hard and continue to get better from where we are now.”

It’s important for Ferris to remain inspired and fired up in spite of this loss to the Lakers. There are plenty more opportunities for the Bulldogs to earn victories this season. That next opportunity presents itself Friday when Ashland comes to Big Rapids for a 4 p.m. contest at the FSU Soccer Field.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com