Tiffin University, 18th ranked in Division II in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, hits the road for the first time this season, travelling north to take on 19th-ranked Saginaw Valley State Sept. 13 before tangling with Northwood on Sept. 15.
Game Information:
Tiffin Dragons (1-0-1) vs.
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 13 | 3:00 p.m.
Saginaw, Mich. | Braddock Field
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (1-0-1) vs.
Northwood Timberwolves (1-0-1)
Sunday, Sept. 15 | 4:00 p.m.
Midland, Mich. | Dean Soccer Field
Video l Live Stats
The Cardinals currently hold a 1-1 record and will be playing at home for the first time this year against TU. They opened with a 2-0 win over McKendree before dropping a narrow decision 2-1 in overtime to Indianapolis.
SVSU sports a largely different look than in recent years, as first year head coach Louis Barrow takes over a Cardinal program that has experienced tremendous success in recent years. Saginaw Valley welcomes 13 newcomers to the program this year and has 10 returners from a team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Round of 16 in 2018 and claimed the league regular season title.
Connor Rutz, a 2017 All-GLIAC First Teamer and All-Midwest Region performer, returns to help lead the offensive attack after missing last year. He will be joined by 2018 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention selection and defender Wladimir Babaew, who will help anchor the back line for the Cards. Junior midfielder Alex Gloshen will lead a solid group of returning midfielders after finishing last season third on the team with 16 points. He tallied four goals and eight assists in his 20 matches. The eight assists ranked second in the GLIAC.
Northwood, meanwhile, is in the midst of a string that sees it play the entire month of September at home. They opened with a 3-2 win over Truman and most recently posted a double overtime tie 3-3 against Southern Indiana. They will play Alderson Broaddus on Sept. 13 before the Dragons come to town on Sunday.
Northwood's Jack Doyle leads the attack and was most recently named GLIAC Player of the Week. Doyle had two goals and an assist in the two NU games. Against Truman, Doyle scored NU's opening goal of the season. He then had a goal and an assist in NU's 3-3 draw against Southern Indiana. Doyle currently leads Northwood in goals and points.
The Northwood University men's soccer team was picked to finish third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season the Timberwolves posted a 9-9-1 record after finishing 4th in the GLIAC and defeating Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley en route to an appearance in the GLIAC Tournament Championship game. They fell in that game to Ashland 3-0.
Tiffin enters the weekend with a 1-0-1 record, tying Alderson Broaddus 0-0 in two overtimes before grabbing their first win 3-0 over Illinois-Springfield. They hold a 11-12-3 record all-time against the Cardinals, while leading Northwood overall with a 13-7-4 mark.
Leo Hasenstab was named G-MAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. Hasenstab netted a hat trick on Saturday in Tiffin's 3-0 win over Illinois Springfield to get the Dragons their first win of the 2019 campaign. The Dragons defense has also been stingy, not allowing a goal yet this season and holding their opponents to a combined 4 shots on goal over 200 minutes.
