ALLENDALE, Mich.—It did not take long for the Grand Valley State women's soccer team to make a statement in the 2016 GLIAC Tournament. Laker midfielder Marti Corby scored just 51 seconds into GVSU's first round draw against Northern Michigan on Tuesday afternoon,  and the Lakers did not relent after the early strike, pouring it on for a 6-0 victory to open the tournament.
 
With the victory, the Lakers advance to the GLIAC semifinals on Friday, and a matchup with Ohio Dominican. That game, as well as the title game, will take place at GVSU Soccer Field with Grand Valley State hosting.
 
Tuesday's game got off to a very quick start for the Lakers, as they were awarded a corner kick 41 seconds into the game. Sophomore midfielder Tara Lierman took the corner service in leiu of Corby, who positioned herself by the goal mouth, awaited Lierman's ball in and jumped up to head the ball past Wildcats goalkeeper  Carol Glantz for her sixth goal of the season.
 
Grand Valley State struck just under 16 minutes later, as senior forward Jayma Martin received a pass from Lierman, dribbled past a defender and laced a high shot between two Wildcats and over the head of Glantz for the second Laker goal of the day and her 16^th of the season. That decisive second strike would carry the Lakers into the half with a 2-0 lead and an 11-1 shot advantage through 45 minutes of play.
 
In the second half, the Lakers wasted no time in widening the gap, as Gabriella Mencotti ran past two Northern Michigan defenders and fired a low strike to the far side of the Wildcat net past a diving Glantz for her team-lading 23^rd goal of the season. That goal came just 14 seconds into the second half and put the Lakers up by a 3-0 margin.
 
"We couldn't start either half any better, scoring in the first minute of each half", said GVSU head coach Jeff Hosler. "It was nice to see us executing set pieces in back-to-back games, which is something we haven't done consistently enough this year. I think we knocked the ball around well, I don't think we were probing on offense enough in the first half, whereas we were in the second half to create more chances to score. It's good to see a lot of kids put the ball in the net, and to have another really good solid effort."
 
In the 52^nd minute, forward Kendra Stauffer added to the Laker lead with a flush following a brilliant linkup between Mencotti and Martin. As Mencotti raced past her defender to the right side baseline, she fired a cross over to Martin, who corralled the ball and one-touched a pass over to Stauffer. Her low shot to the far post bounced off the goalpost and in for the 15^th goal of her 2016 campaign.
 
Mencotti would net a second goal in the 57^th minute, as a superb effort by sophomore Mackenzie Fox to cross the ball into the box found a waiting Mencotti, who headed the ball past Glantz for her 24^th goal of the year. The Lakers weren't done however, as Stauffer and sophomore Marisa Pyden combined for a nice dish to freshman forward Alexis Dandridge, who fired a low shot to the far goalpost and into the net on the richocet. That goal was the first of Dandridge's career and marked her first points since returning from and injury that has sidelined her for much of the season.
 
"Mackenzie gave us a huge lift off the bench", Hosler said. "Right when she was inserted to the game she got Jayma some space out wide because of her decision making. It was great to see Alexis claw her way back from the surgery she had during the season. She's getting better, coming more into form and working to get back to her true self, but I'm really happy for her to score her first collegiate goal, it's a great time of the year to do it, hopefully that will give her additional confidence to go at goal and make more of the minutes she's getting."
 
The Lakers did well to control possession throughout the game, and while the defense yielded six shots (four on goal) to the Wildcats, none were of much challenge to sophomore goalkeeper Jennifer Steinaway, who preserved her 10^th solo clean sheet of the season by making four saves.
 
GVSU improves to 22-0-1 all-time in GLIAC Tournament games, and will have a chance to compete for a tenth straight tournament title if they advance past their Ohio Dominican.