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Even though a pair of championship trophies have been added to the glass display cases in Allendale, there is one more piece of hardware the Grand Valley State women's soccer team wants to bring home: a national title.
 
Sunday (Nov. 16) afternoon against Bellarmine, the No. 11 Lakers will begin chasing the program's fourth national championship in the last six seasons.
 
GVSU has enjoyed great success in its 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. The club carries a 28-8-5 all-time record, including a 13-2-2 mark at home, in Division II's premier postseason event. Getting out of the Midwest Regional Semifinals has not been much of an issue either. At this stage of the tournament, the Lakers are 9-1-1.
 
Playing at home this late in the season has also been quite an advantage. In home NCAA Tournament matchups, the Lakers are 13-2-2. Neither of those losses came after the 2008 campaign.
 
However, Bellarmine may be one of the most dangerous opponents the club has faced this early in the postseason. The Knights (14-3-3, 11-1-3 GLVC) are not a typical No. 6 seed. They finished second in the GLVC regular season standings and took down third-seeded Michigan Tech in Friday (Nov. 14) night's NCAA First Round match.
 
Forwards Katie Fernandez and Mary Beth Gorman have the potential to cause problems for GVSU's back line, which has rounded into championship form, posting six shutouts in its last seven outings.
 
"They have some good, athletic players going forward. They run off the ball well, time their runs well, get numbers forward at the right moments," says first-year head coach Jeff Hosler.  
 
Offense has been the story as of late for the Lakers, though. Over their last four matches, they found the netting 14 times. Team chemistry has been a vital part of the club's latest offensive outburst. Of those 14 tallies, 11 were assisted. GVSU's stellar combination play is led by senior forward Jenny Shaba, who broke the single-season school record for assists last Friday (Nov. 7) and is tied for second nationally with 16 helpers.
 
Outstanding passing will be one of the biggest keys to getting past Bellarmine.
 
"They get numbers behind the ball and they're a compact back line," says Hosler. "Combination play will be really important. Our general speed of play has to be quick and we have to get the ball moving to try and stretch them out."
 
As far as the club's approach to the match, it has been business as usual all week.
 
"We have really approached the week the same way we have all season," says Hosler. "Each day this week was about making sure we get better, focusing on the different little things we feel we didn't do exceptionally well last weekend and being prepared to play our best soccer on Sunday."
 
Kick off for the second-seeded Lakers' tilt with Bellarmine is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the GVSU Soccer Field.