ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt maintained its slim lead atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 1-1 tie against second-place Saginaw Valley State on Friday at Morris Field.

The match felt like a contest between two conference heavyweights with the physicality and intensity on full display from the opening kick. The teams combined for 33 fouls and 11 cards in the match with the pressure ramping up as the final minutes ticked off the clock.

Roosevelt had just one shot on goal in the first half and just three attempts overall in the opening 45 minutes. The Lakers absorbed a lot of pressure and tried to hit back on the counterattack with limited early success. However, the back line was cool and composed on the ball and limited the Cardinals to just two shots on Eric Carvajal.

It didn't take long for the temperature of the contest to heat up in the second half as an ordinary clearance turned into the game's first goal. Carvajal had the ball at his feet when he launched a clearance towards midfield. Nikola Dimitrijevic jumped and simply flicked the ball along with his head directly into the path of Fynn Mewes. The GLIAC's leading goal scorer did the rest to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into the half.

It was a first career assist and point for Carvajal, who also made six saves in goal. Mewes had a chance to double the Roosevelt lead a few minutes later, but his shot went slightly wide. After that attempt, the Cardinals were on the surge for an equalizer, which came in the 60^th minute off a corner kick.

After Saginaw Valley State scored, the Cardinals were quickly back on the hunt for a winner, but Carvajal and the Lakers backline came up huge. The Lakers defense did not allow many quality chances to materialize for the Cardinals, pushing them to the wings and denying crossing opportunities. Carvajal also made four saves in the second half, including a big one in the 84^th minute at the post.

The Lakers had two chances to win the game in the final 10 minutes as well, but Caco Fernandez's rising shot went over the crossbar. Then Luca Swinto had a shot pawed away by the Cardinals goalkeeper a minute later.

GLIAC STANDINGS: With the draw, the Lakers maintained control of their destiny with three games left for most teams. Roosevelt now needs nine points through a combination of its points gained and Saginaw Valley State's dropped points to secure a second consecutive GLIAC regular season championship. At the very least, the result confirmed Roosevelt a top-four seed, which means the Lakers will host a quarterfinals match if they do not secure one of the two byes.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt closes out its home schedule Sunday by hosting Davenport at noon in Arlington Heights.