ALLENDALE, Mich. – The second-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers travel to Cedarville, Ohio for a non-conference, in-region matchup with the Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Wednesday (Oct. 3). This will be the final non-conference bout of the season, so it will be an important display for the currently undefeated Lakers for potential post-season purposes.
 
The Lakers put a dominant offensive display together last weekend, outscoring their two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponents by a combined 16-1 mark. GVSU scored in double figures for the eighth time in program history on Friday (Sept. 28) when they dropped Purdue Northwest, 10-0, in the GLIAC opener. They had their shutout streak snapped at eight matches Sunday in a 6-1 win over Wisconsin-Parkside. Madeline Becker led the Laker attack with five goals on the weekend to earn GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week. GVSU is now 9-0-1 on the season and 2-0 in GLIAC play.
 
Out of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC), the Yellow Jackets are 6-3-0 this season. That solid record could be even more impressive; they are coming off back-to-back 1-0 losses – one of which took overtime. They were victorious in their only other non-conference match this year, dropping the Lewis Flyers, 3-2, and the Jackets are 4-0 at home so far in 2018, outscoring their visitors 11-1. Mackenzie Northcutt, Olivia Hoffman and Hannah Atkinson all lead the team with three goals scored.
 
A well-coached side, the Yellow Jackets are an up-and-coming team under direction of third-year head coach Jonathan Meade. After a sub-.500 first year, Meade guided the Yellow Jackets to an 11-6-2 season last year, including a hard-fought 2-0 loss to the Lakers in Allendale in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Yellow Jackets have qualified for the GMAC Tournament in each of the last two seasons, falling in the first round both years. Last season, they were eliminated on penalty kicks by Ursuline after a scoreless draw. A side that is eager to take the next step, they will undoubtedly be hyped for the highly-ranked Lakers to come to town.

"Cedarville is very well coached, plays hard and is committed in all phases," Lakers head coach Jeff Hosler said. "It's going to take focus and precision in our execution to come away with a win."
 
The Lakers will get one final opportunity out of conference to show their regional prowess. With a win, the team likely controls their own destiny towards a potential Midwest Region one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team's first trip to the state of Ohio this year saw a scoreless draw, the only match the Lakers have not won this season. They'll look to rectify that with another trip across state lines.