ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State women's soccer team defeated Saginaw Valley State 3-1 to earn a huge GLIAC win Friday (Oct. 14) night at the GVSU Soccer Field. The Lakers improve to 10-1-3 overall, 8-0-2 in the GLIAC, while Saginaw Valley drops to 7-4-3, 5-3-2 in conference play.
 
Saginaw Valley got the first scoring chances getting off three shots in the first four minutes. Goalkeeper Kendall Robertson made two saves, and another was blocked by the GVSU defender. The Lakers got their first shot of the game one minute later by Nina Ferraro whose shot was off target followed by a shot on goal by Kennedy Bearden that was saved by the Keeper. Robertson made her third save of the half in the 15' minute and fourth in the 24' minute.
 
In the 25' minute, Kennedy Metzger drew a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick for the Lakers. Bearden took the penalty kick and scored on the low left side of the goal to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead. That goal was Bearden's seventh of the season. Two minutes later, Kacy Lauer drew a foul in the box that led to another penalty kick for the Lakers. Bearden tried going to the low left side again and was stopped by the keeper, but Taylor Reid was there for the rebound to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. That goal was Reid's eighth of the season.
 
The Lakers went into the break with a 2-0 lead as Robertson made four saves in the half to keep the Cardinals off the board. In the second half, Reid, and Lauer each got shots inside the box that were blocked by the Cardinal defenders. In the 51' minute, Cate Brown placed a great ball off a free kick into the middle of the box where Bearden headed it in for her second of the night to make it 3-0. 
 
The Lakers continued to create scoring chances throughout the second half. Saginaw Valley added a late goal to make it 3-1 in the 86' minute, but the Lakers would be able to hang on to for the victory. 
 
Robertson made six saves without allowing a goal in net for the Lakers. Bearden scored twice for eight goals on the season and added an assist. Bearden also had five shots all on goal in the win. Reid scored her eighth of the season that ended up being the game-winning goal. Cate Brown led all Laker field players with 90 minutes as she played in her third consecutive complete game. 
 
The Lakers will be back home this Sunday (Oct. 16) as they host rival Ferris State at 1:00 PM in the final regular season home game. Follow @GVSUSoccer on Twitter for live in-game updates and visit gvsulakers.com for links to live stats and video.