ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 1 Grand Valley State Lakers will open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament play this Tuesday (Oct. 30) when they host 8-seed Purdue Northwest in the quarterfinals at 3:00 PM at the GVSU Soccer Field. The Lakers have won all 11 possible GLIAC Tournaments and aim for a 12th straight title.
The Lakers beat Purdue Northwest, 10-0, in Hammond, Indiana earlier this season. Madeline Becker recorded a hat-trick to lead the attack while Riko Sagara dished out four assists. The Lakers enter the post-season undefeated with a 17-0-1 record, including a perfect 9-0-0 mark in conference play. This is the first undefeated regular season for GVSU since 2013, when the team won an NCAA Championship.
"We were incredibly efficient in front of goal the last time we played Purdue Northwest," said head coach
Jeff Hosler. "That first half was about as good as we've played all year final third in and that's what led to the scoring margin. We must approach Tuesday with that same focus on the details and movement off the ball."
A win by GVSU Tuesday will put them in position to host the tournament semi-finals Friday (Nov. 2) and championship match on Sunday (Nov. 4). Should the Lakers win, they would play the first semi-final on Friday against the winner of the 4-seed Michigan Tech vs. 5-seed Ashland matchup at 5:00 PM.
The Lakers, who had been in somewhat of an offensive drought in October, remedied that with a 5-0 win over Davenport in the regular season finale last Friday. GVSU hopes the offense continues to roll into post-season action as they kick things off Tuesday. GVSULakers.com will provide live video and stats while @GVSUSoccer provides live tweets.
