ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 21 Grand Valley State Lakers finally enjoy the comforts of home as they welcome the McKendree Bearcats on Friday (March 29) at 6:00 PM and the Maryville Saints Sunday (March 31) at 12:00 PM at the GVSU Lacrosse Stadium. The weekend marks the first two home games of the season after nine straight road contests to begin the year.
 
The Lakers are 6-3 on the year and off to a 3-1 start in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play. They split their conference games last weekend, picking up a win at Ashland before a tough loss to No. 12 Indianapolis to snap a three-game win streak. Now the Lakers look for some home cooking to get back to their winning ways.
 
McKendree, who has ended the Lakers season in each of the last two campaigns, is currently 5-3 on the year and 4-1 in GLIAC play and are coming off a 25-3 win over Maryville this past Wednesday. Rylee Skachenko (#24) leads the Bearcat attack, scoring 22 goals on the season. Hannah Sugarman (#23) has 21 goals and five more players have scored 12 or more goals. McKendree is averaging 13.7 goals a game while surrendering 11 per contest.
 
Maryville, who suffered the midweek loss to McKendree, is now 1-8 on the year and 0-6 in conference play. Freshman Claire Martin has scored a team-best 12 goals while also leading the Saints with 43 draw controls after eight on Wednesday. A brand-new program in 2019, Maryville has a roster that consists of all freshmen except two players; senior defender Diana Moreno (#8) and redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Tabatha Saake (#15).
 
The Lakers get to finally play on their home field this weekend and look to improve upon their impressive start to conference play. Six of the Lakers' final seven games are on their home field, so establishing a true home advantage will be big for the Lakers down the stretch.