During the fourth game of a win streak, the No. 19 Grand Valley State University women’s lacrosse team (9-3) beat Saginaw Valley State University (0-8) at home, 25-3. The Friday, April 4 game was special, as it was the Lakers’ annual Morgan’s Message Dedication Game.

Morgan’s Message is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving student-athletes’ mental health and removing associated stigma. GVSU is one of nearly 2,000 schools that promote the cause and host a dedicated game.

“It’s a really great opportunity to stop and pause for a second,” said head coach Dominique Hamman. “We talk about how we can support each other and raise awareness not only for a community, but for this team.”

Junior defender Kylie Waeghe agreed, adding she feels the competition is a “great game.”

“It really highlights focusing on our mental health and prioritizing that you’re not alone, and that you have the entire team of people and everybody here at Grand Valley you can lean on,” Waeghe said.

Starting the match, the Lakers capitalized early when senior midfielder Ashleigh Rothe found a gap in the Cardinals’ defense and scored her 29th goal of the season. 

Getting a quick turnover, GVSU’s lead was extended by junior attacker Gracie Bancroft, who scored her 16th goal of the season. The momentum from the Lakers’ offense continued with back-to-back goals less than a minute later by both freshman midfielder Kendra Swope and senior attacker Zoe Ziegler. Forcing another turnover, Ziegler gained possession of the ball and made the most of it by scoring her second goal of the match.

Saginaw rallied back into the game and pushed the ball down the field, where they were able to score their first goal of the game on senior goalie Kaylyn Carter. Carter, a longtime starter for the Lakers, achieved her 200th career save in the team’s previous match. She is the fourth player in program history to reach this mark.

The Lakers responded to the Cardinal’s goal by putting pressure on the net, which led to a pair of goals by Rothe and Bancroft. Swope was also credited with an assist.

Keeping their dominance, junior attacker Grace Maddox, with an assist from Ziegler, maneuvered through the defense and put the ball past Saginaw’s goalie to score her fifth goal of the season. With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Rothe achieved a hat trick, scoring her third goal of the game.

Heading into the second quarter, the Lakers led 9-1. However, Ziegler quickly extended this lead with a hat trick of her own, scoring her third goal of the game. After only a few minutes, Bancroft joined the club with her third goal, becoming the third Laker to score a hat trick in the match. Now leading by 10 points, a running clock was activated. Once again forcing another turnover, Bancroft was able to get possession of the ball and scored her fourth goal of the game.

With a minute left until halftime, Saginaw finally stopped the Lakers’ seven-point run with a goal of their own. This shortage of time did not deter the Lakers’ offense, as junior midfielder Ella Boose made her way to the net and scored her 12th goal of the season.

Controlling a strong 13-2 lead entering the second half, the Lakers spent no time getting into the game, as Ziegler scored her fourth goal of the match off an assist by Rothe. Snatching the ball out of the air, Rothe showed off by making an impressive behind-the-back shot, which began her run of three-straight goals, with assists from Bancroft and redshirt junior attacker Jillian Bingman. The rest of the Lakers’ offense continued to build from this with a pair of goals by Ziegler and Swope.

Leading 19-2 entering the fourth quarter, Saginaw again stopped GVSU’s seven-point scoring run with their third goal of the match. Despite this goal, a breakaway by the Lakers led to a goal from Bingman, her first of the match and 16th of the season. Regaining possession of the ball, Boose got into position and scored her second goal of the match from an assist by Rothe. Getting the quick turnover, Rothe once again put the ball in the net to score her seventh goal of the game. With this, Rothe scored her 100th career goal.

The Lakers were not done yet, as Boose was able get her own hat trick after scoring her third goal of the game. This was immediately followed by goals from freshman midfielder Emerson Holthouser and sophomore midfielder Ella Manfred. This was a special moment for Manfred, as this was her first career goal for the Lakers.

Although the Lakers scored 25 points, the defense was just as dominant as the offense, allowing only seven shots on the goal compared to the Lakers’ 41 total shots.

“Today, they (the players) wanted to focus on us, and not only did we know we were gonna win, but it was more so, what does that win look like,” said Hamman. “We’ve got to work on some things for us, but I told them it’s always nice when you get to celebrate big moments.”

Rothe stated the team had a great day, both offensively and defensively.

“Being aggressive defensively helped us win, so continually being consistent with that will help us in the future,” said Rothe. 

Along with scoring seven goals in the game, Rothe was coming off being awarded the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Offensive Player of the Week.

“I don’t pay attention to accolades too much,” Rothe said. “I wanna focus on myself and then obviously my team and the season up ahead.”

The women’s lacrosse team will play at home on Friday, April 11, for their next matchup against Northern Michigan University (7-4).