California State San-Bernardino: LIVE STATS
California State Poly-Pomona: LIVE STATS

2016 Women's Soccer Media Guide

The reigning Division II National Champion Grand Valley State women's soccer team will start the 2016 season more than 2,000 miles away from home, taking on a pair of California based schools to open play this weekend.
 
GVSU takes on California State San-Bernardino on Friday afternoon matchup, which will be followed up with a Sunday afternoon matchup with California State Polytechnic-Pomona.
 
In what promises to be game that will challenge the Lakers, Friday's matchup with California State San-Bernardino will at least present a matchup with a familiar opponent, as the Lakers hosted the Coyotes in Allendale last season. That matchup came in the midst of a time of transition for Cal State, as now head coach LeBaron Holliman inherited the program last season under an interim tag. Now firmly at the helm of his program, Holliman will get the chance to take on the defending champs on his home turf, where temperatures are supposed to reach the upper 90's by game time.
 
"It's not easy to travel across the country, it's going to be very hot", said GVSU head coach Jeff Hosler. "San Bernardino is familiar with us, having been here last year. They're familiar with our personnel, LeBaron is a very good coach and they have film on us to break down.
 
Last season, the Lakers handily defeated the Coyotes by a 5-1 margin after getting first half goals from Tara Lierman and Marti Corby. While the Coyotes return 12 players from last season's squad, they lost top goal scorers Melanie Aguayo and Denae Verdine, and will face the Lakers with an unproven offensive group.
 
In contrast, Grand Valley State returns the bulk of scoring from last season, as 86 of the 104 goals scored return to the team for the 2016 campaign. NSCAA Player of the Year Marti Corby led the Lakers with 67 points (25 goals, 17 assists), and is one of seven returning players that scored at least four goals in 2015. 2014 GLIAC Freshman of the Year Gabriella Mencotti is back for her junior season after posting a very solid line last season, and will be joined at the forward position by Kendra Stauffer (15 goals) and Jayma Martin (10 goals). Sophomores Samantha Riga and Lierman both submitted great freshman seasons, and are poised to take on a bigger role in the offense in the new campaign.
 
On Sunday, the Lakers will face an unfamiliar opponent in Cal Poly Pomona, as the two programs have never met on the pitch before. The Broncos will play their first season under new head coach Jay Mason, but feature the return of their top three point scorers from last season in Daisy Duran, Sydney Yates and Hailey James. Cal Poly finished the 2015 season with a 9-7-2 record and is picked to finish sixth in the CCAA conference this season.
 
While the matchup heavily favors the Lakers on paper, the two West Coast opponents will host GVSU outside of it's comfort zone. While Grand Valley State was an impressive 14-0 at GVSU Soccer Field last season, they suffered their only blemishes on the road, posting a 6-1-1 record in those contests. Additionally, the Lakers will be facing a different style of play out west than they will typically see in conference play, as teams on the west coast tend to be quicker, more technical players overall, and will throw different schemes at the Lakers.
 
To combat what they may see out of the two California opponents, the Lakers trot out a proven backline, headed by NSCAA All-American and GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year Clare Carlson. Stiff competition for the starting spots in the preseason shows passable depth at the defensive positions as the Lakers look to repeat their success from 2015. Last season, the Lakers were seventh in the country in goals-against-average (.436) while securing 17 team shutouts and allowing just 11 goals in 25 games.
 
Starting the season off on the right foot is a goal for the Lakers, made even more important by the opening game loss to Quincy last season, the only loss the Lakers would suffer in the campaign but one that threatened to derail the title hopes before they even started. The Lakers biggest issue in recent history is the battle with complacency, as the last 10 season openers for GVSU have featured six wins, one loss, and three ties. If the goal is to avoid the early stresses of last season, then winning the opening match is the place to start.