Sept. 24, 2006

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State Women's Soccer Team improved to 9-0 on the season and 2-0 in GLIAC play with a hard fought 4-1 win over visiting Northern Michigan Sunday afternoon in Allendale. Sophomore Katy Tafler picked up two goals in the game and senior Shannon Carrier tallied a goal and two assists. GVSU will travel to Pennsylvania next weekend and take on Mercyhurst (Sept. 29) on Friday and Gannon (Oct. 1) on Sunday.

Tafler opened up the scoring at the eight minute mark when she fired a shot past the keeper just in front of the goal after a perfectly placed pass from Carrier to give GVSU a 1-0 lead. The goal gave Tafler her 42nd point of the season and her 100th for her career. The Wildcats evened the score at one when Brittney Buchanan drilled a header past GVSU netminder Kristina Nasturzio on a corner kick at the 29:44 mark of the match. The teams would enter halftime knotted at one as both teams were unable to find the back of the net through the final 15 minutes.

Rain that had continued to fall throughout the first half let up before the start of the second half as the Lakers came out and tallied three goals to provide the 4-1 win. GVSU came out much more aggressive in the second stanza, constantly pressuring the backline of Northern Michigan. The Lakers outshot the Wildcats 13-3 in the second half.

Junior defender Sue Christenson provided what would eventually be the game-winning goal at the 63:15 mark when she finished off a corner on the left side of the goal that had been headed to her by Carrier. The goal was Christenson's third of the year. Carrier made it a 3-1 contest in the 76th minute when she beat the keeper from six yards out on a pass from Ashley Elsass. Tafler scored her 20th goal of the season less than five minutes later when she danced around two NMU defenders before firing a shot past the keeper. Elsass picked up her second assist of the day on the goal and now has six for the season.

Tafler is just the fourth player in Laker history to tally 100 points in a career, joining former Lakers' Jenny Swalec (100 points; 2002-05) and Mirela Tutundzic (184 points; 2002-05) and current Laker Shannon Carrier (104 points, 2003-pres.) who tallied her 100th point in GVSU's 6-0 win over Northwood on Friday. GVSU has now scored 55 goals on the season, 6.48 per game and allowed just two. The Lakers will take on Mercyhurst on Friday, Sept. 29 (4 pm) and Gannon on Sunday, Oct. 1 (1 pm).