The No.6-ranked Grand Valley State University women’s soccer (16-2) team finished the regular season with a pair of victories over conference opponents Roosevelt University (5-11-1) and Saginaw Valley State University (11-5-2), bringing the team’s record to 12-1. GVSU cruised to a dominating 7-0 win against Roosevelt University Thursday, while getting past SVSU 2-1 Saturday.

GVSU was aggressive early and often against Roosevelt in the battle of the Lakers, with GVSU netting the first goal just over three minutes into the game. Courtesy of a corner kick from senior midfielder Sophia Morgan, resulted in a header from senior defender Mackenzie Ford. 

Less than two minutes later, sophomore defender Vesna Dennison made the score 2-0 with assists coming from sophomore forwards Kendall Aikens and Sarah Fromm. Despite GVSU failing to score the remainder of the first half, they continued to dictate the game’s pace by not only tallying 11 shots in the first 45 minutes but also by not allowing Roosevelt to register a shot in the entire first half.

Coming out of the break, GVSU began the scoring barrage in the 59th minute with the second of Ford’s goals coming from another set-up from Morgan, the same as the opening goal of the match, to make the score 3-0 in favor of GVSU. Immediately following the score from Ford, senior defender Kacy Lauer footed a pass to Aikens for another score, bringing the game to 4-0.

Roosevelt had no answers for the attack, with GVSU tacking on two more goals in the 62nd and 64th minutes. Senior forward Amanda Palmer received a corner from Ford and found the back of the net to make the score 5-0. Aikens was the recipient of another Ford assist in the 64th after receiving the pass. As Aikens spun the created space from the defender to score her second goal of the game and her fourth of the season, she also put the game out of reach at 6-0.

The seventh and final goal of the match came from the foot of freshman defender Elianna Jeruzal in the 89th minute for her first collegiate goal, with the assist coming from Lauer. This score brought the game to its conclusion: 7-0. GVSU dominated every phase of the game, only allowing two shots the entire contest, with only one shot on goal and a corner kick during the match. 

In the final regular season game, the Lakers took on Saginaw Valley State University at home for Alumni Day. The Lakers struck first in the match, with Fromm scoring in the seventh minute with an assist from Alli French and Sonya Mehta. Fromm scored yet again in the 11th minute with a bar-down goal, the assist coming from Aikens. SVSU then scored in the 38th minute, bringing the score to 2-1, where the scoring would stop for the rest of the contest. The Lakers ended the game by claiming a 2-1 victory in the final regular-season tilt.

Head coach Katelyn Longino explained how, despite the seven-game win streak, team members are still learning about themselves, and that this can be a crucial component to a successful playoff run.

“We continue to learn about ourselves and continue to get a bit better as we head into (the) GLIAC tournament,” Longino said.

Heading into the postseason, the Lakers hope to carry the momentum of their regular-season end into a deep playoff run. With this, despite their success in the first 18 games of the season, Fromm and Ford voiced that they need an approach moving forward that matches their regular-season success.

“Focus on one game at a time, keep trusting each other, keep playing for each other and keep our eyes on what is ahead,” Fromm said. 

Ford also noted the team must stay focused on the goal and not become “complacent.” 

The Lakers will play in the GLIAC quarterfinals Tuesday at 4 p.m. as the No.1 seed. GVSU will host the No. 8-seeded Roosevelt for another match in Allendale.