GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The No. 12 Grand Valley State Lakers earned the program's eight GLIAC Regular Season Title with a 20-15 decision over No. 25 Davenport on Tuesday night. Sophomore
Molly Bursinger led all GVSU scorers with six goals, while five other Lakers accounted for the five-goal win.
Olivia Esposito set the tone for the night, netting a goal within the first 1:40. The Panthers were slow to respond despite a lone goal from GLIAC leading-scorer, Anna Glynn. Halfway through the first half the Lakers held a promising lead, up 8-2 on the Panthers. Freshman
Sydney Stone recorded her 20
th goal on the season to put the Lakers up by six, however, the Panthers would net three consecutive goals in response. Bursinger ended the half with a free position goal in the final minute, to post a 10-6 lead as time expired.
The two highest-scoring offenses in the GLIAC, each team recorded twice as many goals in the second half as they did in the first. Bursinger started the GVSU scoring with the first goal of the game coming in the sixth minute. The final 10 minutes of the game saw nine goals reach the back of the net. GVSU never surrendered the lead, as the closest score came after a free position goal from Brenna Knoll with 11:31 to play.
Sydney Stone, Bursinger and
Sophie Conroy tallied goals in the final five minutes to secure the Laker victory.
Audrey Maloney picked up her third consecutive win as she fought from wire-to-wire in the net. The sophomore goalkeeper posted six saves, while Stone caused two Panther turnovers. Defender
Anna Gritter picked up a game-high six ground balls. As a team, GVSU won 22 draws, compared to the Panthers' 11 draw controls.
Tonight's win marks head coach
Mackenzie Lawler's first GLIAC title in her three years at the helm of the program. GVSU enters the GLIAC Tournament as the top seed and host with action set to begin Friday, May 7. At the end of the regular season, the Lakers sit with a perfect conference record of 8-0 and an overall mark of 11 wins and two losses.
