UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Roosevelt made a statement in its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game, taking down No. 13 Saginaw Valley State 2-1 on Friday on the road.

The Lakers (3-0-2, 1-0-0 GLIAC) narrowly outshot the Cardinals 10-9 in the match, but Eric Carvajal made five saves in goal for Roosevelt to preserve the win. Davide Comai and Omar Yousaf scored for Roosevelt in the first half before Saginaw Valley answered in the 55^th minute for its only goal of the match.

The opening strike came in the 24^th minute off the Lakers' signature ball control on the wings forcing a deep throw-in. Nick Kilian eventually took the feed on a give-and-go with Luca Swinton and dribbled near the end line before unleashing a cross into the middle. Sebastian Rodriguez calmly directed a pass to Comai, who hammered the ball into the lower left corner of the net.

It took just 13 minutes for Roosevelt to double its lead and once again Kilian was involved in the buildup. This time, Killian's feed was missed off the head by Yousaf, but the ball fell to his feet and he kicked it with his left foot into the lower right corner of the net.

The win is the first victory over a ranked opponent for Roosevelt since 2016 when the 22^nd-ranked Lakers defeated No. 23 Lindsay Wilson in an early-season non-conference match.

PK DENIED: Saginaw Valley State won a free kick near midfield a little more than seven minutes into the second half and lofted a cross into the box. The Cardinals attacker got tangled up with the Lakers defense and the referee signaled for a penalty kick. Carvajal guessed correctly to stop the penalty then came up with another big save on the rebound to keep Saginaw Valley State off the board.

RARIFIED AIR: In just five games this season, Nick Kilian already has five assists and is on pace to be the most prolific Roosevelt playmaker in nearly a decade. The last time any Lakers player had more than six assists in a season was in 2015 and no player has ever averaged more than 0.83 assists per game.

UP NEXT: The Lakers continue their road trip in Michigan with a trip to Grand Rapids on Sunday for a 1 p.m. kickoff with Davenport.