Friday, Oct. 14th vs. Ohio Dominican:  Game Notes  l  Live Stats  l ESPN3 Watch Link

Sunday Oct. 16 vs. Findlay (Senior Day):  Live Stats  l  Game Notes 


ALLENDALE, Mich.—Last week was a mixed bag of results for the #2 Grand Valley State women's soccer team. After suffering their first loss of the season to an unranked Florida Tech side at home, the Lakers made yet another road trip away from Allendale to face Walsh and Lake Erie. After eking out a 1-0 victory at Walsh for the second straight season, the Lakers offense clicked on all cylinders in Sunday's thrashing of a hapless Lake Erie squad.
 
Now sitting at 11-1-1 on the season, the Lakers first face an Ohio Dominican squad on Friday that they bested at home nearly a month ago by a 4-0 margin. That contest will be shown on ESPN3, as was the previous matchup between the two teams. After that contest, GVSU faces the Findlay Oilers (3-8-1) on Sunday, and will recognize six seniors as part of its annual Senior Day festivities.
 
In Ohio Dominican (4-4-4), GVSU will face an experienced opponent that consistently plays them tough, creating problems with their athletic ability and physicality. Under first year coach Aimee Haywood, the Panthers are fifth in the GLIAC in goals allowed, having surrendered 13 in 12 games.
 
"ODU is always a dangerous opponent because they are so well organized defensively, they are so physical and athletic that they are always a tough matchup", said GVSU head coach Jeff Hosler. "They're also a team that has a short memory, and seems to bounce back well from game to game, so we're going to have to continue to show our growth to have a positive result on Friday, as they will be familiar with us an our style of play, and will have made adjustments."
 
Despite last Wednesday's loss, playing at home has been a strength for Grand Valley State this season in keeping with tradition. Home matches have accounted for 146 GVSU wins and just five losses over the past 13 seasons, and the Lakers are 4-1 and have outscored opponents 22-2 in those matches. All of those home wins have come in the past month, a stretch during which the Lakers have not played to their full potential, according to Hosler.
 
"We have not been performing as well as we're capable of for about a month now. We have to find a way to stimulate growth within our players and our group, collectively. Presenting some new ideas, some personnel changes will hopefully create further competition within the group and provide fresh ideas to refocus and try to find that growth. We are fortunate to have the depth we have on our roster, and versatile players that can play more than one or two positions."
 
Those lineup changes had immediate and positive results over the weekend, as the Lakers completely throttled the Cavaliers on offense in Friday's win and tagged Lake Erie for a season high in goals allowed on Friday, a win in which six different Lakers scored and seven players contributed an assist. On the season, the Lakers have been markedly effective in setting each other up moving towards goal, as the team has 49 assists on 50 goals this season, the most of any team in the nation.
 
Sunday will be a special day for the Lakers, as they honor the most prolific senior class to ever come through the program before the match with Findlay. This group of six seniors has posted the best record of any senior class, posting an 80-4-5 overall mark on the way to a .926 winning percentage. Additionally, this group has won three straight NCAA Division II National Championships, captured three GLIAC Tournament and Regular Season championships, and have notched a 38-1-1 record in conference play across four seasons.
 
Those six seniors (Clare Carlson, Marti Corby, Gabbie Guibord, Kendra Stauffer, Jayma Martin and Alexis Mencotti) will likely be facing the Oilers for the last time in their playing careers on Sunday, as Findlay comes into the matchup at 3-8-1 overall and next to last in the league table with just four points. The Oilers have not gotten a win in their past four games, with the last victory coming against GMAC opponent Cedarville on September 27^th.
 
Freshman midfielder Sierra Peacock leads the Oilers with five goals, while sophomore forward Marissa Swindell has found the net three times and assisted on three other goals this season. Defensively, the Oilers have issues defending the net, as they are second in the conference in goals allowed this season, with 24 through 12 games. 
 
"Findlay is a team that is tough to figure out based on their results", Hosler said. "They've played some of the top teams in the GLIAC really well, so I think it shows that they can be competitive with anybody on any given day. They're similar in terms of personnel and ability to last season, but they've found a way to get results against the top teams in the GLIAC, where they struggled with that a year ago."
 
This weekend's home games are two of the final three such games GVSU will play this season, as next Friday's matchup with Northwood marks the final home contest of the regular season.