ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 1 Grand Valley State Lakers begin their NCAA Tournament run this week as they host the opening rounds of the Midwest Regional Tournament. As the one-seed in the region, the Lakers host the 4-, 5- and 8-seeds for the first two rounds this weekend (Tournament Central). The host Lakers will face 8-seed Cedarville at 1 PM on Thursday, November 18.
 
GVSU finished the regular season 16-0-2, completing the seventh undefeated regular season in program history. They fell in the GLIAC Tournament finals, but their body of work was strong enough to warrant the top seed in the region; which gives them the right to host NCAA Tournament games all the way through the Elite Eight, should they advance.
 
Greta DeLoach earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year and Cecilia Steinwascher was Defensive Player of the Year for a record third time. The Lakers, who are defending their 2019 National Championship, have captured 11 consecutive regional crowns.
 
"We were disappointed in the result Sunday for sure. We did not play the way Grand Valley State plays," head coach Jim Conlon said. "My hope is that we carry some lessons from that and return to being the aggressive, attacking team that our players, fans and alumni have come to expect. There are no more second chances."
 
Their opening round opponent is no slouch in the accomplished and confident Cedarville Yellow Jackets. They went 12-5-2 this season, earning the 2-seed in the G-MAC Tournament and taking Ashland, who won the conference and is the 2-seed in the region, to overtime in the championship match. They challenged themselves with a non-conference schedule that included Indianapolis (the 5-seed in the region) and a one-goal loss to Lee, who is undefeated and now No. 2 in the country.
 
A difficult side to score against, Cedarville has allowed just 13 goals this season; an 0.68 goals-against average and four of those goals came in their season-opener. Brooke Ackley has been a force between the pipes, earning G-MAC Goalkeeper of the Year with 55 saves and an incredible .902 save-percentage, which ranks fifth in the nation. Mary Kate Wyer has been the leading offensive force for the Yellow Jackets, scoring five of their 26 goals and dishing five assists. Addie Erslan also has five goals for Cedarville this season.
 
"Cedarville is extremely organized and tough to break down defensively. We are going to have to be aggressive and intentional in finding attacking opportunities. We need to connect passes forward and get back to finding good combinations to put our goal-scorers in position to do just that."
 
This is the third-ever meeting between the two sides and first in post-season play. The Lakers are 2-0 lifetime against the Yellow Jackets, but in a win-or-go-home showdown, the past means nothing. The quest for a seventh National Championship starts here.