PHILIPPI, W. Va. - Thanks to an incredible all-around performance, Grand Valley State women's lacrosse cruised to a 17-0 victory over Alderson-Broaddus to open conference play Thursday (Apr. 2) evening. It was the fourth shutout in program history, and the first since the Lakers blanked Urbana, 18-0, on April 25, 2014.

GVSU (6-4, 1-0 GLIAC) was led on offense by Jordan Luberto, who tallied two goals and three assists, and Erika Neumen, with three goals and one assist. Ryan Skomial led the team with four assists, while Carolyn Kraus added two goals and two assists to the victory. Brooke Ingraham and Zoe Stiemann each tallied two goals, while Sarah Lowe dished out a pair of assists. Freshmen Meggan Loyd and Elizabeth Grisko each put one in the back of the net, earning their first points as Lakers.

Lowe led the team with three caused turnovers, while Meghan Datema won a team-high four draw controls and Caitlin Wojichowski scooped up three loose balls in the win. Sarah Zwilsky made one save against two shots faced in 60 minutes between the pipes, earning her sixth win of the year and her third career shutout.

Grand Valley State controlled the game from the opening whistle. The Lakers recorded 34 shots, 24 of which were on goal, scooped up 15 ground balls, and held a decisive 12-5 edge in draw controls. On the defensive side of the field, GVSU forced the Battlers into committing 16 of their 24 turnovers, while only committing 17 of their own, and limiting Alderson-Broaddus (1-7, 0-1 GLIAC) to just two shots total.

GVSU opened the first half with a eight goals in a span of 10 minutes. Kraus, Neumen, and Stiemann all scored two goals during the run, while Rachel Leibovitz and Luberto added one score each to make the score 8-0. Skomial added three assists during the run, while Luberto, Neumen, Lowe, and Chelsey Bishop added one assist apiece. Skomial dished out her fourth assist on Livvy Mickevicius' first goal of the seasonat 13:07, while tallies from Luberto and Ingraham put the game at 11-0 going into halftime.

A Kraus-to-Ingraham goal 5:47 into the second half, and Neumen tickled the twine for her third goal of the evening off a pass from Lowe. The defense continued to shut down the Battler offense, preventing them from taking any shots in the entire second half as Luberto notched her third assist of the game on Grisko's goal, while Datema and Molly McGeeney scored unassisted goals five minutes apart. Loyd scored the 17th and final goal of the contest after receiving a pass from Kraus at 5:10.

Grand Valley State looks to extend their winning streak to four on Saturday (Apr. 4) when they travel to North Canton for a conference showdown with Walsh (3-6, 0-1 GLIAC) at 10:30 a.m.