UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – After scoring a second half goal, the Ohio Dominican women's soccer team would survive a late threat from Saginaw Valley State to open GLIAC play with a 1-0 victory on the road Friday afternoon.

Coming out of halftime in a scoreless draw, the Panthers (2-3-0, 1-0-0 GLIAC) would receive a goal from junior Emily Riviello (Huber Heights, OH) in the 59th minute.

Senior Jessica Gross (Dayton, OH) would have a clearance pass out of the ODU back end which would go over the top, past the Cardinal defense as Riviello would finish.

SVSU would look to tie the match late as they would record three corner kicks in the final six minutes, but the Panthers defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Harris (Mason, OH), would deny each opportunity.

Harris posted her fifth career shutout, making two saves on the day. She has lowered her goals against average to 1.67 this season and has a career GAA of 0.95.

The victory was the first for the Panthers over SVSU since a 2-1 road win in 2011. This was also a rematch of the opening round of the NCAA tournament as season ago.

Freshman Susan D'Isidoro (Twinsburg, OH) paced the Panthers in shots with three, and one coming on goal. Riviello along with sophomore Allison Pavlik (Cortland, OH) would each post two shots, as both had one shot on goal.

ODU would win the shots battle 11-7, while holding a 6-2 advantage in shots on target. SVSU would post six corner kicks to ODU's four attempts.

The Panthers will look to build upon their momentum as they travel to conference opponent, Northwood on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Dean Field.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu