KENOSHA, Wis. – The No. 1 Grand Valley State Lakers enter the final three games of the regular season needing two wins to clinch a 15^th straight GLIAC fall championship. They'll get their first opportunity this Friday (Oct. 29) when they take on the Parkside Rangers on the road at 1 PM ET.
 
GVSU is 14-0-1 overall and 10-0-1 in conference play entering the penultimate weekend. Despite an undefeated record, the Lakers hit an abnormal stretch defensively, allowing seven goals in a four-game period, but responded with a pair of shutouts last weekend. They downed a red-hot Michigan Tech team, 5-0, Friday afternoon before a road 3-0 win over Davenport Sunday morning to return to defensive form.
 
"No one on this team was satisfied with the defensive results, even though we were finding ways to win. We had a really good week of focused training and communication heading into last week's games and got the results we were looking for. We tried to build on that this week to continue to get better and will look to do so every week going forward."
 
Freshman Taylor Reid scored a pair of goals and had two assists over the weekend while senior Caitie Baron has elevated her game with three goals and two assists in her last three played. The steady offensive leader continues to be super-sub Greta DeLoach, who has now scored in eight straight games and ranks second in the nation with 17 goals despite not starting a single game this season.  
 
Cecilia Steinwascher has become the key piece of GVSU's transition game. Despite playing a defensive midfield role, Steinwascher has five assists in her last five matches to vault into first place in the GLIAC in assists with nine for the season.
 
The Lakers take on the Rangers for the second time this season, beating them 2-0 in Allendale earlier this year. That scoreline could have looked much more crooked, with the Lakers outshooting Parkside 41-3, but Izzy Guyer made 11 saves on the day and either her or Mia Guyton, who splits the goalkeeping duties, will again be a tough code to crack again this time around. Sophomore Alexis Baker will be the focal point of their offense; she's the only Ranger with multiple goals this season and has scored seven of the team's 12 total goals.
 
"We saw this in September with Parkside allowing us to gain access to the attacking third, but they keep their composure in defensive situations and will make finishing difficult. We must find good combinations and runs, dominate possession and be focused and ready for their counter attack," Conlon said. "There aren't many chances left before post-season and we need to take advantage of the opportunities left to get into the form we need to be in for the GLIAC and NCAA Tournament."
 
With just one game this week, the Lakers will look to solidify their positioning for the GLIAC championship while also getting the chance to continue to develop towards playing their best soccer as the post-season looms.