McKendree (Mar. 25):
Live Stats |
Video Indianapolis (Mar. 26):
Live Stats |
Video ALLENDALE, Mich. - Grand Valley State women's lacrosse is back in action after a week off from competition, opening up the conference portion of their schedule with back-to-back home games against McKendree and Indianapolis.
Ranked #8 in the country in the latest IWLCA Coaches' Poll, the Lakers are 2-3 at the conclusion of their out-of-conference schedule after a week that saw the Lakers beat #19 Bentley and fall to #2 Le Moyne. Their upcoming games will be the first in Grand Valley State's quest to win their fourth consecutive GLIAC regular season title.
Grand Valley State's offense has been led all season by their dynamic duo of
Erika Neumen and
Ryan Skomial. Neumen leads the team with 11 goals while Skomial leads the team with 18 points and eight assists. Neumen also stands second on the team with 13 draw control wins, while Skomial ties second on the squad in ground balls with nine.
Kira Dosenberry and
Meghan Datema have also been key members of the Laker offense through the first five games of the season. Senior captain Dosenberry has put up six points on four goals and two assists, and currently leads the team with 13 ground balls while also pulling down eight draw controls and causing five turnovers. Datema, who scored the first GLIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week award of the season, has put up six goals and one assist for seven points and leads the team with 15 draw controls.
Danielle Tunnell has also proven to be an important component of the offense this season, scoring six goals and tallying one assist in all five games thus far, and
Carlyn Shisler has made the most of her appearances on the field by scoring four goals in her first year in a Laker uniform.
Caitlin Wojichowski has been the leader for the defense in her final season for GVSU. Drawing the top scorer in all five games, Wojichowski has caused six turnovers while picking up seven ground balls for GV.
Sarah Zwilsky has been a constant presence in the cage for Grand Valley State, starting in all five games and making 31 saves against Top 20 competition.
Leading their offense entering Friday's game for the Bearcats (3-3, 2-0) will be Paige Salthouse. An All-GLIAC Second Team selection last season, Salthouse leads the Bearcats through five games in points (21) and goals (16), while Dana DiPasquale ranks second in points (19) and leads the team in assists (11). Shirley Boland will also be a player the Lakers must keep an eye on, as she leads the team in ground balls (18), draw controls (17), and caused turnovers (12). Amy Porta will be the one in net to try and stop the GVSU offense. The junior netminder has started in all six games this season for McKendree, recording 79 saves and a 52.3 save percentage while averaging 12 goals allowed.
2-5 overall and 0-2 against the conference in their first year of Division II competition, Indianapolis will be led for their game on Saturday by Chalane Morrison and Sydney Hauffman. Morrison leads the team with 18 points on 12 goals and six assists, while Sydney Hauffman has tallied 13 points on 10 goals and three assists. Hana Priddy will be another player to keep an eye on, as she has found the back of the net 10 times to go with her team-leading 22 draw controls, 18 ground balls, and seven caused turnovers. In the net, the Greyhounds will turn to Irene Carlquist, who has started in all seven games and posted 67 saves and a 45.3 save percentage against an average of 11.57 goals allowed per game.
Grand Valley State is 3-0 all-time against McKendree, while Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Lakers and Greyhounds. The Lakers have not lost a single GLIAC game, going 23-0 in the three years the conference has sponsored women's lacrosse.
Links to the live statistical and video broadcasts for both games have been included at the top of the page and on the women's lacrosse schedule page. The opening draw for the McKendree game is scheduled for 2 pm, while the start-time against Indianapolis is scheduled for 1 pm.
