MARQUETTE, Mich. – The No. 3 Grand Valley State Lakers head over the bridge to the Upper Peninsula for their first two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road matches of the year at Northern Michigan on Friday (Oct. 18) at 4:00 PM in Marquette, Michigan and Michigan Tech Sunday (Oct. 20) at 12:00 PM in Houghton, Michigan.
 
GVSU outscored their first two GLIAC opponents of the season a combined 10-0 last weekend at home, led by Caitie Baron's goal and three assists to garner GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Overall, the Lakers have now outscored their opposition 29-0 since their lone loss of the year and are 9-1 this season and 2-0 in GLIAC play. The Lakers rank fourth in the nation with a 0.30 goals-against average and second in scoring average with 3.90 goals per game, one of just two teams in Division II to rank in the top 10 in both (Nova Southeastern).
 
Ava Cook leads the conference with 13 goals, five more than the next-highest scorer, and Riko Sagara has nine assists to pace the league. Cook's 13 goals are also good for the fourth-most in Division II and just three shy of the national lead while Sagara – who led the nation in assists last season – is currently third nationally. Three of the top four point-leaders in the GLIAC all reside in Allendale with Cook (1^st) and Sagara (3^rd) joined by redshirt-freshman Chantel Carranza (4^th).
 
"Our front line continues to improve week by week, and the numbers draw deserved attention. But our defense allowed one total shot last weekend. That was an incredibly impressive performance and it's great to see our team dominating possession and asserting the pace of play on our opponents," said head coach Jeff Hosler.
 
Northern Michigan is off to an 0-2 start to conference play and are 3-7 overall but do have an impressive win over St. Cloud State on their resume and just beat Michigan Tech last weekend in non-conference play. Eight different Wildcats have found the back of the net this season, led by three goals from Jamie Montgomery.
 
"This trip is always difficult, with the long travel and what can be a harsh climate already this time of year. For some of our younger players there will be some adversity to overcome to perform at the level they need to in order for us to get the results we want," Hosler said.
 
Michigan Tech is 3-5-1 overall and 0-2 in conference action, but have played just three matches on their home field, where they have proven difficult to beat in seasons past. Last weekend's match with Northern Michigan started a five-match homestand for the Huskies, who will face Davenport Friday before hosting the Lakers on Sunday. Gabby Sgambati and Grace Shaw have each scored four goals to lead the Huskies attack and six other Huskies have also scored this season. Keep an eye on goalkeeper Gracie VanLangevelde. The freshman has only started three matches, but she is 2-1 with an 0.96 goals-against average and 16 saves.
 
The Lakers have already made some lengthy road trips in the early portion of this season, flying to both Minnesota and Georgia, but the UP bus trip always makes for a challenge. GVSU hopes to stay red hot despite venturing to cold weather and keep building upon their impressive stretch of play in the last month.