ALLENDALE, Mich. – No. 2 Grand Valley State opened the NCAA Tournament with a convincing result, 7-1, over the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles Friday (Nov. 22) afternoon in the Midwest Region Quarterfinals at the GVSU Soccer Field. The Lakers improve to 20-1 on the season and advance to Sunday's regional semifinal against 5-seed McKendree.
Ava Cook led the Laker attack with two goals and three assists while
Riko Sagara contributed a goal and two assists.
Caitie Baron scored twice and Greta DeLoach and
Chantel Carranza each scored a goal. GVSU took an early lead in the 5' on a combination from Cook on the wing through Sagara, who slid the ball across the front of goal for Baron to slam home. DeLoach would score in the 10' – which would prove to be the game-winner – when Cook and Carranza combined to set her up.
"We talk all the time about starting strong and we got back to that form today, which was great to see," said head coach
Jeff Hosler. "I was really proud of Ava and the way she set the tone today. We ask a lot out of her and the way she led by example in taking care of the ball and creating is a big reason we got the result today."
Cook would score the next two goals to round out the first-half scoring. In the 14' she stole the ball off a goal kick by USI, shook the defense then smashed corner netting to add to the lead. In the 21' she would score off a setup from Sagara on a well-angled through ball to make it 4-0 at half. USI would score on a GVSU own-goal in the 51' but the Lakers got it back, and then some, with two goals in a 20-second span in the 66' with Carranza and Sagara each scoring. Baron would split the defense and strike the back of the net in the 81' to round out the scoring.
The Lakers have now won at least 20 matches in 13 straight seasons. They look to advance to the second weekend of tournament play on Sunday, when they face McKendree in the regional semifinal in what will be the final soccer match played in Allendale in 2019. The match will stream live on ESPN3 and GVSULakers.com will provide links to live stats and video while @GVSUSoccer provides live twitter updates.
