Ferris State Soccer Opens GLIAC Play with 1-0 Victory Over Davenport

Postgame Highlights & Interview 
Postgame Interview - Korinne Ihrke 
Postgame Interview - Grace Sampson 

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University women's soccer team opened Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play Friday (Sept. 19) with a home contest against Davenport University and battled to a 1-0 win.

FSU head coach Greg Henson became the program's all-time winningest coach, notching his 64th career win in the victory.

The Bulldogs (1-1-3, 1-0-0 GLIAC) earned their first win of the season as they started conference play 1-0. Senior defender Grace Sampson scored her first goal as Bulldog, while sophomore goalkeeper Korinne Ihrke recorded her first collegiate victory in the shutout effort.

Sampson found the back of the net at 7:42 for the lone goal of the game. Katherine Welch sent a crossing pass into the box and Sampson got her left foot on the ball for a shot to the lower-left corner that got past DU's goalkeeper, Bailey Gauthier. Welch collected her second assist of the season as the Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead on Sampson's first career game-winning tally.

FSU held its lead into halftime and had a 3-0 advantage in the shots on goal category over the Panthers. Neither team had a corner kick while FSU committed four fouls and DU had seven. The Panthers were limited to just two total shot attempts, neither of which were on frame.

In the second half, Davenport fired three shots with two of them on target. Ihrke made both saves and preserved the shutout win for Ferris State.

For the game, FSU had five shots on goal, three corner kicks and 13 fouls. Davenport had two shots on goal, one corner kick and 13 fouls. The Bulldogs finished with 12 total shot attempts compared to five for the Panthers.

Individually, Sampson and Annie Hartley led the way with two shots on goal apiece. Ava Fuller had FSU's other shot on frame. Bella Vallone, Avery Sikorski, Ella Wolf and Isabella Baron each played 90 minutes in the victory.

FSU will be back at home Sunday (Sept. 21) for Senior Day as Purdue Northwest comes to town. Game time is schedule for 1 p.m. (ET) with the Senior Day festivities beginning at 12:30 p.m. (ET). The game will be streamed live on FloCollege.