Sept. 30, 2007

Final Stats

Ashland, Ohio - #1 Grand Valley State University entered Sunday's match against Ashland with two streaks on the line. The Lakers had won nine straight matches to start the season, but had never won in Ashland in the history of GVSU women's soccer. The Lakers responded with an 8-0 victory, powered by defending NCAA Division II Player of the Year Katy Tafler's four goals.

Although the game got off to a slow start, with the Lakers holding a slim 2-0 margin at halftime, it broke open in the second half, with six goals coming in the second 45 minutes. The Lakers outshot the Eagles by an astounding 31-3 margin and pressured the attack all match long. Tafler alone fired 11 shots and put seven of them on frame. Kourtney Willert, Jaleen Dingledine and Kristen Eible all recorded at least two points, along with Tafler, who finished with eight.

Grand Valley State took the lead for good in the tenth minute, when Tafler fired a shot from 12 yards out that found the lower-right hand corner of the net. That goal, the game-winner, was assisted by Eible. The only other goal of the first period came at the 13:33 mark. Tafler gathered the ball after a deflection and buried it in the back of the net to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. It was her 16th goal of the season.

Tafler scored her 17th goal of the season just 2:27 into the second half when she volleyed in a header from Meaghan Robinson. 10:01 later, GVSU went up by a 4-0 score when Willert scored her second goal of the year off of a corner. Eible recorded her second assist of the match on the goal.

Lauren King notched her first point of the year in the 63rd minute when she fed Tafler, who put the ball in the upper-left hand corner from 12 yards out to put the Lakers up 5-0. Jamie Radley scored her first goal of the season to extend the Laker lead to six at the 73:53 mark, taking a pass from Dingledine and scoring from just eight yards outside the goal. Dingledine then scored a goal of her own just 3:03 later to give GVSU a 7-0 lead.

The final goal of the match was scored by Joyce Rose, her first of the season. Rose's goal came at the 81:31 mark, with an assist going to Willert. Rose got a head on Willert's free kick to put Grand Valley up by eight, which would mark the final margin.

The Lakers are now 10-0 and are still ranked No. 1 in the nation. GVSU is now 2-0 in the GLIAC after beating Findlay and Ashland by a combined 17-1 margin. Kristina Nasturzio recorded the win with two saves in 81 minutes of action. The Lakers' next match is on Friday, Oct. 5 against Mercyhurst. The match is in Allendale, Mich., with opening kick-off scheduled for 4 p.m.