The No. 17 ranked Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team (11-1-3) traveled to Big Rapids, Michigan, where they shut out rival Ferris State University (6-5-4) 2-0 on Sunday, Oct. 27. The team followed this with another away win on Friday, Nov. 1, scoring 2-1 against Roosevelt University (0-11-4).

Against the Bulldogs, the Lakers started strong, with graduate forward Taylor Reid scoring her first goal of the season in the 16th minute. The goal’s assist was from senior midfielder Ryann Fetty.

For roughly the next 60 minutes of play, the Lakers worked to extend their lead, while Ferris looked to tie things up late.

Although the Bulldogs’ defense held strong after the first goal, it was the Lakers’ offense that found the net next. Freshman forward Kendall Aikens scored with a header for her first collegiate goal, with the assist from sophomore defender Alex Williams.

“It was honestly surreal,” said Aikens. “The game was intense, with it being a rivalry match. The ball was crossed perfectly by Alex and I got (my) head on it. It was such a great moment.”

Aikens’ goal increased the Lakers’ lead to 2-0. This remained the score for the rest of the game.

After the game against Ferris, GVSU’s win streak was riding on a four game shutout. Later in the week, the Lakers sought to continue their streak when they took on Roosevelt University. However, things seemed a bit shaky for GVSU when Roosevelt scored in the 39th minute from a penalty kick. The Lakers ended the first half down 1-0.

“We didn’t have the best first half,” said head coach Katie Hultin. “The unfortunate penalty kick for them was our fault. At the half, it was a mentality shift that we needed. We were able to challenge our players to dig deeper and fight harder to put the ball in the back of the net.”

In the 68th minute, GVSU found its footing when sophomore forward Alli French scored her fourth goal of the season, tying up the game 1-1.

“Before my goal, there was a lot of action happening in the box,” said French. “We knew Roosevelt was sitting back because they were up. The ball came out to me, and I got a good kick and good placement with the ball.”

However, a tie was not enough for the GVSU offense. The Lakers continued to press Roosevelt’s defense, and in the 71st minute, junior defender Kacy Lauer was able to score her second goal of the season off a penalty kick from a handball in the box.

Now, with the win in sight, GVSU held up defensively to close out the remainder of the match, securing a fifth straight win. 

The matchup against Roosevelt was the Lakers’ final away game of the season, as their next three regular season matches will be at home in Allendale.

“We get to stick to our normal routines,” said Hultin. “There is a lot of value in playing on our field, in front of our fans and in a familiar place. We are trying to close out the season strong. These next three games are big for trying to win the conference, so I think we (will) just take things game by game.”

French added that playing in Allendale helps the team, which is permeated by the culture that surrounds home games.

“Coach Hultin says energy is our superpower, and our team truly believes that,” French said. “The culture that this team brings helps us play at home.”

The Lakers will host Northern Michigan University on Thursday, Nov. 7 at home.