As the fall semester approaches, so does the beginning of another season for the Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team. This upcoming season, the women’s squad enters the year with numerous changes— most notably, a new coaching staff.
In February, GVSU Athletics announced former head coach Katie Hultin had accepted a position at the University of Illinois. In her place, Katelyn Longino is taking over as the team’s sixth head coach.
Previously at the University of Iowa, Longino spent seven seasons as associate head coach under Dave Dilanni, a former head coach of women’s soccer at GVSU. Longino helped lead the Iowa Hawkeyes to four NCAA Tournament appearances and two Big Ten Conference Championships.
“I am honored and excited to lead the Lakers,” expressed Longino. “I am excited to build on the incredible tradition of excellence here at GVSU. I have greatly enjoyed serving, leading and challenging our players to be the best person, player and student they can be.”
In addition to this change in leadership, the GVSU women’s soccer team also hired a new assistant coach, Jade Smith, who was announced Feb. 25 by Longino. Previously, as assistant coach at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, Smith led the team to multiple firsts in program history, including appearances in the NCAA Tournament Championships and regular season championships.
On the women’s soccer team, 15 Lakers from last season will be returning, many of whom achieved All-Conference and All-American Honors. The team is also welcoming eight freshmen and five transfer students to the roster for 2025.
In their 2024 campaign, GVSU ended with an 11-1-6 overall record, being 8-1-5 in conference play. The Lakers went undefeated in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) Tournament and most of the NCAA Tournament. However, a 1-1 draw (4-5 on penalties) in the NCAA quarterfinals against Minnesota State University ended their run. With this strong record, the team ranked first place in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
“We really try to play by the idea of staying disciplined and connected,” explained sophomore forward Sarah Fromm. “Our coaches talk a lot about controlling what we can, (like) effort, energy and execution. The mindset is basically staying tough, together and focused no matter what’s happening. The end goal is obvious, but we don’t look too far into the future. We take it one day, practice and game at a time, and push each other every day to be better.”
Looking ahead, GVSU will open the upcoming season with two exhibition games, playing the University of Findlay Aug. 24 at 3 p.m. and Northwood University Aug. 30 at 11:30 a.m. Both of these are home games in Allendale.
“We will go day by day and give it 100% of what we have each day,” said Longino. “We will continue to stack days, and get better and better as the season goes on. We look to win each day by getting better on and off the field. Winning matters (but we’ll) will go one game at a time.”
GVSU’s first official game of the 2025 season is on Sept. 4 against the Ashland University Eagles in Ohio— the same opponent the Lakers faced starting last year’s campaign.
