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WARRENSBURG, Mo. – One. It's considered the loneliest number, but it's the prevalent theme in Sunday's Elite 8 matchup between the No. 4 Grand Valley State Lakers and the – you guessed it – No. 1 Central Missouri Jennies. One win separates the Lakers from a ninth straight Final Four appearance, but those Jennies don't have a loss all year. Not one.
 
The Lakers got their 20^th win of the season Friday, taking down No. 9 Quincy, 3-1, in the Midwest Region championship match. GVSU has bounced this Jennies team from the NCAA Tournament in the Elite 8 in each of the last three seasons, needing penalty kicks two years ago here in Warrensburg.
 
The Lakers have the number one goal scorer in the nation, Gabriella Mencotti, after she scored her 29^th goal in the win Friday to take sole possession atop all of Division II. The 29 goals also match her total from a year ago, when she earned D2CCA National Player of the Year. With Mencotti at the helm, the Lakers are second in the nation in goals per game (4.18) and tenth in goals against average (0.495). The Jennies are number one in the nation in scoring defense (0.143), having allowed just three goals all year, while ranking third offensively (3.59).
 
"It's rare for both teams to have such familiarity with each other at this stage of the tournament," said Lakers head coach Jeff Hosler. "Both sides implore very similar systems and style of play, so whichever team can make the minor adjustments and execute better will likely find the result."
 
For Central Missouri, Jada Scott and Abbey Rhoades each have 16 goals, with Scott leading all Jennies with 42 points on the season. Seven different players have scored at least five goals this season, giving UCM a balanced attack that has posed problems for every team the Jennies have faced. But, if there's a team up to the task, it's GVSU. The Lakers boasts the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year in Dani Johnson and a total of nine All-GLIAC performers, six of whom are defensive-minded players.
 
"There will be key one-on-one battles that we have to win, and there will be difficult moments that we will need to show mental toughness and resolve in a true road match," said Hosler. "We've spent a lot of time preparing for this match, I think our kids will be ready to go."
 
There's that number again. The Jennies have lost on their home field just once in the last four seasons, going 49-1-1 in the stretch. The lone draw is with the Lakers, who bested UCM, 3-2, in penalty kicks to advance. The last home loss came back on October 18, 2015, when Northeastern State got a 1-0 win.
 
 "Beyond taking care of the small details, I don't think this will be a match where either side will generate a high volume of scoring chances, so being opportunistic will be critical," said Hosler.
 
This may be the most intriguing of the quarterfinal matches this weekend. Two top-four teams in an elimination game for the fourth straight year. Can the Lakers end the Jennies season for the fourth time in a row? Is this the season UCM finally gets over the proverbial hump that has been Grand Valley State? Can the potent Laker offense solve the stingy Central Missouri defense? And vise-versa? Plenty of questions will be answered Sunday, but for now one thing is clear. Only one of these excellent teams will advance to the Final Four.