Grand Valley State University’s women’s soccer season officially starts on Sept. 5, and in preparation for the beginning of their season, the team participated in two preseason exhibition matches.
The first exhibition match was at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio on Aug. 26, in which GVSU lost narrowly. However, losing in an exhibition can be a positive experience for the team to reflect and find areas where they can improve, according to junior Sophia Morgan.
“While we don’t like to lose, we learned a lot about ourselves and really grew,” said Morgan. “For exhibition games, we aren’t as worried about the score because it’s an opportunity to grow as a team.”
The second exhibition game was against Northwood University on Aug. 28, and was a home match for the Lakers. The GVSU women’s soccer program has never lost to Northwood in the 28 times they have faced each other, this match being no exception. The Lakers secured yet another win, and in doing so, continued their winning streak against Northwood. During the game, the women’s soccer team was able to exhibit four different goal-scorers.
“It was really awesome to be able to play at home and get a solid win,” said Morgan. “We were able to apply what we’ve been working on, and it paid off.”
Although exhibition matches don’t affect a team’s overall standing, they allow the players to see how their team compares to others before the season actually starts.
“We learned a lot in both exhibitions and we’re really excited for our out-of-conference games, as well as GLIAC play,” said Morgan.
Head coach Katie Hultin, who is about to enter her third season as the head coach for women’s soccer at GVSU, is happy with the preseason that her team has had.
“We had a fantastic preseason filled with growth from start to finish,” said Hultin. “The exhibitions were a good challenge, as they (the University of Findlay and Northwood University) were great opponents.”
Hultin emphasized the growth she’s observed in both the team’s new and returning players.
“We saw some of our new players step into roles that we are excited about, and our returners all showed great leadership and development from prior years,” said Hultin. “We have two great matchups next week.”
The team’s next matchups are against Ashland University and Cedarville University, two out-of-conference opponents, both games being at home.
On Thursday, Sept. 5, the Lakers will be taking on Ashland. Last season, GVSU played Ashland twice in two highly competitive games, once in the regular season and once in the regional final. The Lakers ended up beating Ashland in their regional game, and since 2002, the first time the two teams met, the Lakers have won 21 of 26 matchups against the team.
The Lakers will take on Cedarville on Saturday, Sept. 7. GVSU is less familiar with Cedarville, as they have only played against the university three times in the history of both the women’s and men’s soccer teams. GVSU’s teams have won all three of these matches.
Looking towards the two upcoming matches, Hultin sees both schools as respectable opponents.
“Both Ashland and Cedarville (have) great programs and are coached very well,” said Hultin. “We are excited to kick off our season with a challenge, and (we) can’t wait to see what’s to come.”
