MARQUETTE, MICH. – The Grand Valley State women's lacrosse team closed out the regular season in style this afternoon, knocking off Northern Michigan 23-10 to finish a perfect 6-0 in GLIAC play and win their third straight regular season conference title.
The two teams traded goals early, with GV getting two scores from
Molly Bursinger and one from
Maddy Champagne, as the game was tied at three halfway through the first quarter. The Lakers took control from there, scoring the final five goals of the period, as Champagne and
Maggie Hammer each scored twice and Bursinger scored once to put GVSU up 8-3 going into the second quarter.
The Wildcats go a goal to begin the second, but it was quickly answered by two straight from
Hailey Crittenden. NMU scored once more, but Hammer picked off a Wildcat pass and took it the other way for a goal just before the halftime horn, as the Lakers led 11-5 after 30 minutes.
The third quarter was back-and-forth throughout, as GVSU scored five goals and Northern had four. The Lakers got goals from
Ella Boose, Bursinger, Champagne, and two more from Crittenden, as they increased their lead to 16-9 in the quarter.
The final quarter belonged to the Lakers, as they outscored the Wildcats 7-1 in the final 15 minutes. Bursinger,
Ellie Bernard, and Champagne started the scoring for the Lakers, and after a Northern goal,
Ashleigh Rothe scored once,
Zoe Ziegler twice, and Hammer one more time to clinch the perfect GLIAC record and another conference title.
Molly Bursinger and
Maddy Champagne each scored five times, while
Maggie Hammer and
Hailey Crittenden scored four apiece.
Zoe Ziegler netted two goals, while
Ashleigh Rothe,
Ella Boose, and
Ellie Bernard each had one. Rothe dished out a career-high seven assists, as Crittenden and Bernard had two, while Bursinger, Ziegler, and Hammer had one. Bursinger controlled nine draws, with Rothe and Champagne each gathering four.
Up Next
The postseason starts this weekend, as the Lakers will host the GLIAC Tournament as the number one seed, as they will take on Davenport on Friday afternoon.
