ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 2 Grand Valley State Lakers began post-season play with a 5-1 win over the Northern Michigan Wildcats Sunday (Nov. 10) in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals. The top-seeded Lakers will host the next two rounds of the tournament in Allendale next weekend. GVSU wins their 14
th straight game despite a late Wildcats goal spoiling the GVSU shutout streak that ends two matches shy of the Division II record.
The Lakers got on the board early when a well-placed cross from
Ava Cook found the head of
Riko Sagara, who's lofted shot had enough height to beat the Wildcats keeper and put the Lakers in front. Late in the first half, it was
Chelsea Graves with a 25-yard strike into the corner netting to double the lead before the half.
Just past the hour mark, Greta DeLoach would score her first of two on the day, taking a perfect through ball from Sagara behind the defense for a breakaway strike. Then, in the 71', a
Morgan Krause loft from the midfield put DeLoach behind again for another clean look at goal that she would convert.
Kennedy Bearden got on the scoresheet in the 83' on Cook's second assist of the day. Off the ensuing restart, the Wildcats were able to slip in behind the defense and a left-wing cross found Rachael Erste in front of goal for the finish that snapped the Lakers' shutout streak after 1,255 minutes.
The Lakers will face 4-seed Ferris State on Friday in the semifinals at 5:00 PM at the GVSU Soccer Field. GVSULakers.com will provide links to live stats and video coverage while @GVSUSoccer provides live Twitter updates.
