ST. PAUL, MINN. – The Grand Valley women's lacrosse team opened conference play with a matchup against Concordia-St. Paul. And for the 24^th consecutive GLIAC game, the Lakers came away victorious, winning 17-10 to move to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in GLIAC play.
 
The Lakers started the game on a 2-0 run, getting goals from Hailey Crittenden, off an assist from Kate DeYoung, and Molly Bursinger. CSP got one back before GVSU scored three straight goals to end the quarter, as Crittenden found Maddy Champagne for a goal, then Zoe Ziegler and Bursinger each netted on to put the Lakers up 5-1 after one.
 
Crittenden scored once again to open the second quarter, followed by the first career goal from Ella Boose, getting an assist from Champagne. The Bears answered with two goals in a row, but GVSU scored four in a row. It was started by DeYoung scoring her first of the game, then Maggie Hammer and Bursinger scored unassisted goals, and capped off by another goal from Boose, getting assisted from Bursinger. CSP struck before the end of the half, but they still trailed 11-4.
 
Bursinger scored her fourth goal of the game out of the halftime break, this one coming on a woman-up opportunity. Champagne followed with her second goal, with the assist going to Hammer. CSP followed that with a goal of their own, but Ellie Bernard got a pass from Crittenden to score before Bernard then found Ziegler to end the quarter with GVSU up 15-5.
 
The Bears began the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run, cutting their deficit to five, but that would be as close as they would get, as Bursinger netted her fifth of the game, then she found Crittenden to cap off her hat trick and seal the Lakers win.
 
Molly Bursinger had a big offensive game, scoring five goals and dishing out two assists, while also grabbing eight draw controls. Hailey Crittenden scored three times and assisted on two more goals. Zoe Ziegler, Maddy Champagne, and Ella Boose all scored twice, while Maggie Hammer, Kate DeYoung, and Ellie Bernard all got one past the goalkeeper. Champagne, Hammer, DeYoung, and Bernard all recorded one assist.
 
Maddy Champagne controlled eight draws and Ashleigh Rothe and Sydney Stone each tallied three. Bursinger caused three turnovers, while Rothe and Aislynn Alkire each caused two. Rothe picked up four groundballs, Alkire and Elora Ferrie each had three, and Bursinger, Champagne, Crittenden, Kylie Waeghe, Boose, and Hope Leinen had two each. Sarah Krause picked up her second straight win in the cage, as she tallied four saves and one groundball.
 
Up Next
The Lakers continue GLIAC play next week, taking on Davenport Tuesday on the road at 6:00 pm. They return home that Friday, March 31 to play Northern Michigan at 5:00.