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Set pieces off of corner kicks were a primary focus during the Grand Valley State women's soccer team's practices leading up to its season-opening matches. The No. 1 Lakers' attention to detail paid major dividends as they scored two goals via corner kicks to win their first-ever meeting with Truman State 3-0 on Sunday (Sep. 7) afternoon.
 
For the second time this weekend, GVSU dominated the stat sheet to extend its winning streak to 26 matches. The Lakers took 26 shots, 14 of which were on target, and allowed just seven. Five of the Bulldogs' attempts were put on goal, but senior goalkeeper Andrea Strauss stopped them all to post the second shutout of her collegiate career.

"It was a good weekend. I thought we played much better Friday night (against No. 13 Quincy) than today, but we have to continue to establish the environment we want to play in...And establish tempo and style of play." head coach Jeff Hosler said. "But goals are often hard to come by (during the) early weekends, and we capitalized, especially today on set pieces."

Sophomore midfielder Gabbie Guibord kicked off the scoring for GVSU on a rebounded shot inside the 20-yard box. The Northville, Michigan product managed to collect the loose ball and drive it past the nearside post to put the Lakers on top a little over five minutes in. It would end up being her first game-winning goal in a GVSU uniform.

"Recently, that has been our focus—corner kicks—because we have such a good team in the air," Guibord said. "The past two practices we focused on them big time." 

Senior midfielder Charlie Socia, who came off the bench this afternoon, added to the lead in the 39^th minute. Following a Truman State foul, the Lakers were awarded a free kick only a few paces off the 20-yard box. Socia blasted a ball past the wall of defenders and into the netting for her first tally of the 2014 season.
 
The third, and final, goal of the day came from senior defender Alyssa Wesley in the 67^th minute. Sophomore midfielder Marti Corby floated a picture-perfect service to the middle of the 20-yard box, where Wesley re-directed it right into the heart of the netting.

Although Hosler was pleased with the offensive output and zero goals allowed through two matches, he noted there is still room for improvement.

"We had them pinned back for the entire second half," Hosler said. "Defensively, we were pretty good. We need to be more organized there still. Outside of (failing on the final ball of the second half) we took the game to them. We looked much more like the team we are capable of being."
 
GVSU will hit the road for the rest of September, starting with next weekend's trip to Minnesota for a pair of matches against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes. The Lakers begin their five-match road trip Friday (Sep. 12) afternoon versus No. 21 Southwest Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota. Action will commence at 4 p.m. ET.

Notes:
-With its two wins over GLVC opponents this weekend, GVSU improved to 65-20-2 all-time against GLVC clubs
-The Lakers are now 42-2-2 against the GLVC since 2005
-This is the second consecutive year, and 10th time in the last 13 seasons, GVSU has opened its campaign with back-to-back shutouts
-After extending their win streak to 26 matches, the Lakers tied Nebraska Omaha for the fifth-longest winning streak in Division II history
-GVSU's home unbeaten streak—already a Division II record—now stands at 65 matches