Speed separates good women's soccer teams from great ones. Holding that advantage at nearly every position, Grand Valley State created mismatch after mismatch, dangerous run after dangerous run, and shot after shot in its 3-1 victory over unbeaten No. 10 Central Missouri in the NCAA Quarterfinals. 

With back-to-back victories over previously unbeaten top-10 clubs, there is no dispute about it: the Lakers are still one of the nation's elite.
 
Right from the outset, the No. 11 Lakers' speediness between midfield and goal line was too much for the Jennies. There was no slowing them down either. GVSU piled up 20 shots and sent countless services across the 18-yard box throughout the match's 90 minutes. UCM hardly mustered an answer, spending the majority of its afternoon chasing the Lakers.

"We played with a sense of urgency," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "We have dynamic athletes. And when we run hard and play hard, do it by being intelligent and having good patterns with our runs, it can make it very difficult (for teams to defend us). The way we played early on really made it difficult for (Central Missouri) to get their feet underneath them.

"That's part of having an experienced group. Having been here before, players know how to prepare. Coming out and getting off to a quick start was clearly the difference today."

After seeing a few early runs turned away by the Jennies, GVSU continued to amplify its pressure. Everything was challenged. Every 50-50 ball seemed to find the head of a Laker. Every pass got closer and closer to the goal mouth.
 
It was only a matter of time before GVSU would break the game open. At the 18:11 mark, senior forward Jenny Shaba did exactly that.
 
As senior defender Juane Odendaal—a former Canadian high school track and cross country runner—streaked up the near sideline, Shaba sprinted up the middle, into the 18-yard box. A soft, high service from Odendaal was headed out of the box, but sophomore forward Kendra Stauffer quickly floated a ball back into traffic. Shaba's initial shot was blocked, bringing the rebound right back at her feet. Without any hesitation, she drove it home.
 
The next 20 minutes were no different. GVSU continued to run down every loose ball and went at goal every chance it had. This led to more threatening crosses and through balls inside the 18-yard box. And, eventually, a penalty kick for freshman forward Gabriella Mencotti.
 
For the third time this season, Mencotti blasted the uncontested 12-yard attempt into the goal. It was her 16^th goal of the season, a figure that leads all GVSU players.

"Both players, when they are eager to get to goal, are very difficult to stop," said Hosler, referring to Shaba and Mencotti. "They can take players on one-v-one, they run well off the ball, time their runs well, and are on the same page. They're looking for each other, they find each other often and they present great size and strength with their pace."
 
For Shaba, it must have been the shoes (she sported brand-new cleats for today's match), because nearly every one of her touches turned into a scoring opportunity. Another run, this one sparked by Mencotti, resulted in her second goal of the day.
 
With only the keeper to beat, Shaba needed just one touch inside the 18-yard box to send her 10^th tally of the season into the upper 90.

"The lucky new shoes did the trick today," smiled Shaba. "With their (3-5-2) formation against our formation, we knew we were going to be one-v-one in the midfield and up top. We knew if we could win our individual battles, we would be the better team today. Everyone came out and put it to them."

A UCM goal at the 76:59 mark would be nothing more than window dressing. From there on out, the Laker defense kept everything in front of them, cementing GVSU's sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Semifinals—now the longest streak in Division II history since the tournament expanded to at least 24 teams in 2001.
 
The Lakers, who are now 21-2-1 on the year, will square off with No. 6 Saint Rose in the NCAA Semifinals. All of the Final Four matches will be played at Bellarmine University in Louisville on Dec. 4-6.

"I'm proud of the group," said Hosler. "To beat two unbeaten teams this weekend, and to do it in such convincing fashion today after all the emotion on Friday, I'm just really proud of the way they regrouped and executed so well to get us into the Final Four."

But the Lakers' journey is far from over. When Shaba and Hosler answered if there was work left to be done this season, they were candid as ever.

"Absolutely," replied the two. 

On to Louisville they go.

Notes:
-GVSU's 21 victories this season are tied with the 2007 club for the fifth-most in program history
-The Lakers have handed out 70 assists this season, which are tied with the 2007 team for the third-most in school history
-Against first-time opponents this season (Central Missouri, Southwest Minnesota State and Truman State), GVSU improved to 3-0-0 with its win today
-With two goals this afternoon, Jenny Shaba became the fourth Laker with at least 10 goals this season
-Shaba also took over eighth place in the GVSU career record book with her 32nd and 33rd goals
-Gabriella Mencotti notched her sixth game-winning goal of the season, tying her for the seventh-most by a Laker in a single campaign
-Mencotti's 16 goals are the third-most by a Laker freshman, while her 42 points rank second all-time among GVSU newcomers
-Mencotti's three made penalty kicks are a new single-season school record
-For a team-high 11th time this year, Juane Odendaal played every minute of a match
-With her 99th consecutive appearance today, Charlie Socia tied Erin Mruz for the third-longest streak in school history
-GVSU is now 6-1-2 in NCAA Quarterfinal matches
-This is just the second time in school history GVSU defeated a top-10 team in back-to-back matches