INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The No. 19 Grand Valley State women's lacrosse team debuts the 2020 season at former-GLIAC foe, No. 9 Indianapolis, on Friday (Feb. 28) at 4 p.m.  Last season, the Lakers fell to the Greyhounds in overtime of the GLIAC Tournament Final, 17-18. 
 
Head coach Mackenzie Lawler enters her second year at the helm of the program after leading the Lakers to a record of 14 wins and four losses with a GLIAC Tournament appearance in her inaugural season.  Lawler is joined by staff returnees Nora Boerger and Emma DeYoung, and newcomer goalie coach, Dominique Hamman. 
 
GVSU reclaims eight starters, including the highest-returning scorer, Abbi O'Neal, who found the back of the net 51 times on 90 attempts and dished out 14 assists in 2019.  All-GLIAC recipients Elizabeth Yeomans and Sarah Stagaard will take the field for the start of their senior campaign.  Last spring, Yeomans led the team in caused turnovers with 26, while Stagaard recorded the second-most ground balls (27) and draw controls (37) among active players.
 
The last time these two teams met, the Lakers erased a 14-8 deficit to force overtime.  O'Neal led the team with eight goals, followed by Skylar Simmers with three, while Sophie Conroy and Olivia Esposito each tallied two assists.  Grace Gunneson recorded four goals with five assists for the Greyhounds, while Destinie Katz added a game-high seven assists.  The Lakers hold the upper hand in all-time meetings, taking four out of the seven matches.  
 
Indianapolis boasts a 3-0 record, including wins over No. 8 Florida Southern, Lee and Lincoln Memorial.  Last year, the Greyhounds posted an overall record of 18 wins and two losses with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.   
 
The Lakers continue a GLVC-packed non-conference road schedule with games at McKendree (March 1), No. 5 Lindenwood (March 4) and Maryville (March 5) before opening at home on March 13 against Tiffin.  With the addition of Upper Iowa and the loss of Indianapolis, GVSU was picked as the front-runner for the GLIAC Championship title for the first time since 2018.