Men's Soccer Tops No. 10 Saginaw Valley in Overtime 1-0 on Hobbs's Golden Goal

OVERVIEW

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 1, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 0
RECORDS: Northwood (7-2-2, 5-0-1 GLIAC), Saginaw Valley (7-2-1, 4-1-1 GLIAC)
LOCATION: Dean Field - Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Hobbs's overtime winner lone goal in thrilling Timberwolves victory Wednesday (October 4).

INSIDE THE GAME

• Nine minutes into the contest with each team combining for one shot, Saginaw Valley was given their first prime oppotrtunity to gain an advantage. Northwood was called for a penalty in the box and the Cardinals were awarded a penalty kick. With the Timberwolves needing a save, goaltender Corbin Cecchini dove to his left to make a critical stop, keeping the game scoreless.
• Early on in the second half after getting outshot 8-1, Northwood had two prime chances within minutes of each other to strike first. In the 49^th minute, Lirim Shefkiu showed his speed and cut outside to the left of the box before chipping a shot off the crossbar. In the 51^st minute, the Timberwolves were awarded a corner kick. On the sinking liner from James Vaughan, Connor Cole timed his leap perfectly and redirected the ball just wide of the right post.
• In the dying minutes of regulation, defender Josh Wates made a crucial block. In the middle of the box, he was able to deflect the ball away from the far post with a header to keep the contest scoreless and force it into overtime.
• Early on in the first overtime with the two teams still scoreless, Austin Hobbs was able to force a turnover at midfield. Speeding ahead towards the left side of the box, the freshman was able to slide a strike to the right past the Saginaw Valley goaltender for the game-winner.

GAME STATS

• SHOTS: Saginaw Valley 13, Northwood 7
• SAVES: Northwood 3, Saginaw Valley 1
• CORNER KICKS: Saginaw Valley 11, Northwood 4
• FOULS: Northwood 11, Saginaw Valley 9

GAME NOTES

• The Timberwolves now have the slim edge in the season series dating back to 2013, going 6-5-1 in the past 12 matchups.
• Austin Hobbs scored his second goal of his collegiate career and the first game-winner of his Northwood tenure. His 28 shots place second on the team.
• This was Northwood's first overtime win this season in three tries. The other two contests ended in ties.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will host Northern Michigan for a game against the Wildcats on Friday (Oct. 6). Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.