ALLENDALE, Mich.—The Grand Valley State women's soccer team did everything necessary to tally the program's fifth straight victory, scoring three second half goals after having a first half goal disallowed by an off-sides call. The Lakers victory over the Wildcats was also their first victory with a newly minted number one ranking, and improves the team's record to 6-0-1.

"It was a good result for us on what can be a difficult trip up to the U.P", said GVSU head coach Jeff Hosler. "We were really sharp in our possession in the first half, really good with the decisions we were making. In the second half, we changed a few things with the pattern of our play, our kids were looking to get into the box more and it really paid dividends with three second half goals."
 
Gabriella Mencotti had a superb game for GVSU, netting a pair of goals shortly into the second half at the 49 and 55 minute marks. Mencotti also scored for the Lakers just 11 minutes into the contest, but was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed.

"Gabby was great, she played with a lot of energy and covered a lot of ground", Hosler said. "She did a good job penetrating and get herself in front of goal, which is something we've asked her to do more of, and she got rewarded with a couple goals. She was really good filling that role as a penetrating player and displaying good pace."
 
GVSU came out firing in the first minutes of the game, registering three shots in the first four minutes, and eventually finding the back of the net on Mencotti's goal that wasn't. The Lakers maintained the aggression, building up a steady advantage in shots and shots on goal. However the Wildcats would not yield a first half goal to GVSU, and the teams would go into the break tied at zeroes.
 
Opening the second half with three quick looks at goal, the Lakers hit pay dirt on the third, as Marti Corby played a ball into the middle of the box for Mencotti, who put the ball away for her fourth goal of the season and gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Six minutes later, a buildup from Laker seniors Clare Carlson, Kendra Stauffer and Corby gave Mencotti her second goal of the game at the 55 minute mark.
 
Five minutes later, the Lakers would once again have a goal called back for being offsides, this time by junior Sara Stevens. That kept the Lakers away from their third goal until the 69^th minute, when Corby dished out her third assist of the day, this time to freshman Mia Gale. Gale's first career Laker goal put the team up by the final margin of 3-0 and marked her first points of the season.
 
While the Lakers missed out on some chances to convert good looks into goals, the team's aggressive play was also the best form of defense in the match. After recording an early shot on goal, saved by GVSU goalkeeper Jennifer Steinaway, the Wildcats did not challenge her again, and would record just one more shot for the remainder of the game. The Lakers have now outscored their past five opponents by a combined 21-0 margin, and Steinaway recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season with the win.

"It was definitely one of the better responses we've had in the second half this season", Hosler added. "Although we touched on improving the second half scoring this week, you can't look past a quick start and how valuable that is, so we'll look to get off to a quick start on Sunday and look to improve that out to a full 90 effort if we're going to beat Michigan Tech."

Corby finished with three assists in the contest, giving her eight on the season. Stauffer also notched an assist in the win.
 
Next up for the Lakers is a Sunday afternoon matchup with Michigan Tech (4-1, 0-0 GLIAC). The Huskies face Ferris State on Friday evening.