BLOG 16: Ferris soccer team earns big win; faces No. 1 GVSU

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State soccer player Ellen Phillips (4) boots the ball on a goal kick during a home match against Findlay (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – The good news is Ferris State University’s women’s soccer team won its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament first-round contest against Northern Michigan, 2-0.

The challenging news is now Ferris must travel to Allendale for the semifinals. In the semifinals, Ferris faces the top seed in the tournament and No. 1-ranked team in the nation, Grand Valley State. Even more of a challenge is the fact the tournament’s final two rounds will be hosted by the Lakers – in their backyard.

Ferris and Grand Valley play at 2:30 p.m. after the first contest of the semifinal round between second-seeded Tiffin and third-seeded Saginaw Valley, which starts at noon. Ferris can thank the goal-scoring work of freshman midfielder Maegan Smith and senior forward Tammy Unsworth. Those two players supplied the goals that lifted the Bulldogs to a win over visiting Northern in a Tuesday afternoon contest at the FSU Soccer Field.

Ferris has everything to gain and virtually nothing to lose while the Lakers have plenty to lose. Grand Valley clearly is the favorite to win the conference tournament and ultimately play for the national championship. For Ferris, everything right now is sort of like icing on the cake as it already has proved its preseason doubters wrong by advancing this deep into the women’s league soccer tournament.

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