#14 Grand Valley State opened the 2022 women's lacrosse campaign with an 18-11 victory at #23 St. Leo (Fla.) Thursday (Feb. 17) night. The Lakers will square off against #11 Tampa Sunday (Feb. 20) at 11 a.m.

GVSU took a 6-2 lead after one period of play behind five goals from junior Molly Bursinger. St. Leo scored three goals in the opening five minutes of the second period before senior Sophie Conroy got the Lakers on the board with a goal at the 9:57 mark. St. Leo tied it at 7-7 with 7:38 left in the second stanza, but sophomore Sydney Stone score her first goal of the 2022 campaign to up the lead to 8-7. St. Leo tied it again at 8-8 before Stone went on a scoring spree, netting three goals in the final 1:52 of the second period to give the Lakers an 11-8 advantage. 

Grand Valley State dominated the third periord, outscoring St. Leo 6-2. Conroy netted the first goal, followed by the first goal of the season for sophomore Maddy Champagne and junior Maggie Hammer. Bursinger, Conroy and Hammer closed the period with goals and the Lakers led 17-10. Each squad netted just one goal in the fourth period that was dominated by the defense. Stone hit the back of the net in the final minute for her fifth goal of the night. 

Sophomore Audrey Maloney picked up the win in net for the Lakers, recording two saves in 30 minutes of action. Freshman Kaylyn Cater tallied five saves in her first action for the Lakers. Bursinger led the offensive attack with six goals and 13 draw controls, while Stone chipped in five goals. Conroy added three goals and three assists, followed by Hammer with two goals and one each for Champagne and sophomore Hailey Crittenden. The Lakers outshot St. Leo 41-23, including a 32-18 advantage of shots on goal. In addition, GVSU had a decisive 22-11 advantage in draw controls.