ALLENDALE, Mich. – With driving snow and whipping winds overhead, the No. 1 Grand Valley State Lakers dominated to the tune of a 7-0 win over the 8-seed Rockhurst Hawks on a freezing Friday afternoon at the GVSU Soccer Field. The Lakers improve to 21-0-1 on the year and advance to the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal against 4-seed Walsh on Sunday at 1:00 PM. Seven different Lakers scored in the game with
Cecilia Steinwascher's game-winning goal and an assist leading the way.
Steinwascher opened the scoring with a blistering shot from 25 yards out in the 15'. A short corner set up
Riko Sagara for a sweeping pass to the center of the field, where Steinwascher struck a line drive into the far corner netting. Sagara, who leads the nation in assists, had two on the day.
Then the Lakers pulled away with four goals in a ten-minute stretch near the half-hour mark.
After
Olivia Trombley drilled the crossbar,
Chelsea Graves followed up to tap in the rebound in the 25'. Just three minutes later,
Corey Sawall side-stepped a defender and blistered a left-footed shot near post to beat the keeper before a perfect lead pass from
Tara Lierman put
Timia Robinson behind the defense for a near-post finish of her own in the 34'.
Ava Cook capped off the flurry with a finish after the combination of
Haley Dehaan and Steinwascher played her through.
GVSU held a 5-0 halftime lead and the offensive onslaught continued early in the second half.
Madeline Becker used a give-and-go with
Caitie Baron that led to a one-time finish by the freshman in the 53'.
Raemi DeWent would run into a great ball from
Sydney O'Donnell and finish off the breakaway in the 64' to round out the scoring.
The Lakers will face Walsh at 1:00 PM Sunday at the GVSU Soccer Field with a trip to the Midwest Region Finals on the line. The Lakers are seeking a tenth consecutive regional title. GVSULakers.com will have live stats and video coverage of the match while @GVSUSoccer provides live Twitter updates.
