After closing a four-game road slate, No. 5 Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team (11–2) welcomed Northern Michigan University (3–7–4) to Allendale for the annual “Kick Out Cancer” game.

The Lakers put on masterclass offensive and defensive dominance, outscoring the Wildcats 3-0 in Friday evening’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup.

Early in the matchup, it was clear that defense and physicality were key themes. Those tropes persisted as both teams aimed to have strong defenses throughout the first half, with a stalemate keeping both teams near midfield. Senior defenders Mackenzie Ford and Kacy Lauer found themselves busy defending freshman goalkeeper Macie Hunter.

Head coach Katelyn Longino complimented the Wildcats’ competition and physicality.

“Northern Michigan came in with a great game plan,” said Longino. “Credit to them and their staff. Our group was coachable and resilient. We didn’t control it the whole time, (and) they chipped away in moments. We’ve got to be better and put together a full (turn). Still, we scored some pretty great goals tonight.”

GVSU’s offense showed signs of gaining traction late in the first half. The first goal of the contest came from the Lakers when freshman forward Ivy Wilhelm tallied her fourth goal of the season from a dazzling assist from Ford.

With 10 seconds left in the first half, sophomore defender Vesna Dennison struck one from the top of the box to the back of the net, giving the Lakers momentum going into the half. This was also her first goal of the season, and Wilhelm assisted.

“I’d probably say the assist was more impressive than the goal,” said Wilhelm. “I didn’t think the ball was coming to me, I was just in the right spot, and I’m glad it fell to Vesna to finish.”

In the second half, the Wildcats’ offense seemed to have found its footing, making cleaner passes and delivering nice through-balls. However, the Lakers’ defense was still a brick wall, not allowing any shots on Hunter. The offense simply matched their effort, orchestrating multiple attacks but never getting one in the back of the net, even hitting the post once. 

At the 61-minute mark, sophomore forward Sarah Fromm found the net while knocked to the ground, squeezing the ball just under the diving goalkeeper. Lauer had perfectly placed the ball just in front of Fromm, giving her the opportunity on a silver platter.

The game demonstrated the Lakers’ complementary performance, dominating on both offense and defense. In addition, Hunter notched her seventh clean sheet this year, and the women’s soccer program secured its 500th program win– the 11th under newly tenured Longino.

Wilhelm credited the team’s offensive performance to everyone being on the same page.

“We’ve figured out where everyone wants the ball, some to feet, some in space,” Wilhelm said. “Now we can really play around each other. It’s fluid instead of robotic.”

Longino further discussed the team’s recovery routine, citing the quick turnaround time between games.

“Right now it’s ice baths and protein shakes,” said Longino. “We want a real dinner in them (players), then lock in recovery, sleep, nutrition (and) hydration. We’ll get the bodies moving to flush the lactic acid. Recovery’s the name of the game.”