ALLENDALE, MICH. – The GVSU women's lacrosse team is out west this week, closing out their spring break trip in Colorado with two games. They play Colorado Mesa on Thursday, then finish at Regis Sunday afternoon.
 
Mesa: Live Stats | Video | 6:00 EST/4:00 MT
Regis: Live Stats | Video | 1:00 EST/11:00 MT
 
The 13^th-ranked Lakers moved to 2-0 to begin the season with a 16-9 victory at Quincy on Sunday. Behind a balanced scoring attack, hat tricks from Ashleigh Rothe, Gracie Bancroft, and Ella Boose, the Lakers once again used a strong fourth quarter to pull away for the win. Kaylyn Cater posted a strong game in net, playing the first half, but still notching three saves, grabbing two groundballs, and causing two turnovers, earning herself GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Four Lakers picked up three or more groundballs and four players caused multiple turnovers.
 
Last season, GVSU met up with Colorado Mesa in a neutral site game in St. Louis. It was a low scoring battle, but the Lakers pulled out a 9-3 victory. Cater was fantastic in goal, allowing just the three goals and recording seven saves. Rothe had a hat trick and Ainsley Shilling tallied two goals to help lead the offense.
 
Colorado Mesa is in a four-game stretch of playing ranked teams, dropping the first two in the chain, falling to 1-3 on the season. The Mavericks lone win came in their second game of the season, when they defeated Missouri Western State. They lost to Rockhurst in their opener, then fell to #20 Florida Tech and #9 Saint Leo last week down in Florida. They have scored 47 goals, allowing 61. Two Mavericks are tied for the team lead with 15 points, Courtney Havel, 13 goals, two assists, and Justine Anderson, eight goals and seven assists. In net, Heather Hawkins has taken over as the starting goalkeeper, posting a .490 save percentage in her three games, making 25 saves. This is the fourth all-time matchup between GVSU and Mesa, with the Lakers leading the series 2-1.
 
On Sunday, the Lakers square off with tenth-ranked Regis. The Rangers are 0-3 on the year, but those three losses are all to top 10 teams, #7 UIndy, #5 Maryville, and #2 Pace. The loss to Maryville was the only game that was more than a one-point final. Despite being 0-3, goalkeeper Brigit Goetsch has put up strong numbers. She has a .514 save percentage and 38 saves, despite already facing 103 total shots. Regis still has one of the top draw control units in the country, posting 42 this year, 10 more than their opponents, with Shea Murphy and Megan Bunker combining for 30 of those. Murphy is the team's leading scorer at nine points, but the Ranger offense has only put up 73 shots this year, 30 fewer than their opponents. The Rangers will play Lock Haven on Wednesday in their final game before facing GVSU.
 
How to Follow
Both games will be available to follow along with via live stats or live video. Or you can follow along on social media at @gvsuwlax.