In soccer, the team with the most goals at the end of the game wins. Period. It doesn’t matter if the
point spread is 15 or one.

“We haven’t let in a goal this season and that’s becoming a big thing for us,”senior defender Sam
Decker said. “We want to keep that shutout streak alive, and there’s no letting up, regardless of the
score.”

The No. 1 Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team (6-0-1) allowed only nine shots over the
weekend; five in a 1-0 victory over Saginaw Valley State University (3-4-1) Friday and four in a 5-0
victory over Northwood University (3-2-1) Sunday.

The Laker backline has imposed its will; senior keeper Abbey Miller, who has rarely been tested, has
made 19 saves on 19 shots aimed in her direction this season and with seven consecutive shutouts
tallied to start the year, a streak that surpasses the six consecutive shutout start notched by the 2006
squad. The 2013 Lakers haven’t needed to pad the lead to win.

GVSU has out-shot opponents 102-52 this season, and yet up until Sunday, the Lakers had only
netted eight goals on the season.

“We have been creating the chances to score five, six goals in a game, but we just haven’t capitalized,”
GVSU coach Dave Dilanni said. “We don’t put much stock in terms of the numbers, but we do talk
about the efficiency of putting our chances away. We’ve been a little up and down in that regard the
last couple of weeks, but if our girls decide to put the same amount of effort and focus into the game
as we saw today, we have the depth and talent to be pretty exciting to watch.”

The Lakers took 45 shots over the weekend—the most they’ve taken in a two game stretch all season
—but the 5-0 dismantling of Northwood was the first time GVSU has netted more than two goals in a
game this year.

“We’ve been very vocal about our frustration level on not capitalizing on some of the chances we have
been able to create throughout the beginning part of the year, but as the year has gone on, we’ve
opened up and finally got some luck to finish against Northwood,” Dilanni said.

GVSU opened the weekend at SVSU, where the game’s lone goal was contributed by junior forward
Jenny Shaba off an assist from freshman forward Kendra Stauffer in the 47th minute. It was Shaba’s
third consecutive match with a game-winning goal.

“Jenny’s come through for us in really fine fashion the last three or four games,” Dilanni said. “She’s
the upperclassman of the forwards, even though she’s only a junior, and she needs to lead the charge
a little bit in terms of consistency and performance. She did that for three games for us.”

Freshman midfielder Marti Corby and senior midfielder Autumn Jacobs both also put shots on net in
the contest, but the GVSU scoring levies remained dammed. Sunday at Northwood, the floodgates
were kicked open by a five-goal, 36-minute Laker offensive flurry.

The game, for all intensive purposes, was over at half.

“We were on today and it just felt like our shots were falling in the right direction,” Decker said. “We
were capitalizing on shots we haven’t all season and it was fun for us. One thing I really appreciate
about coach Dilanni is that he never takes things lightly. We’re up 4-0 at half, but he doesn’t let up or
approach mistakes any differently than he would have if it were 0-0.”

In the 10th minute, junior midfielder Charlie Socia broke through, finishing a deftly delivered 50-yard
pass from Sophomore Katy Woolley.

“Charlie was making a run in behind the line, Woolley put a really great diagonal ball in and Charlie
just hit the ball right in the air and caught the keeper off her line,” Shaba said. “It was one of the
prettiest goals of the season so far.”

In the 24th minute, redshirt freshman forward Olivia Emery chipped in goal No. 2. Less than a minute
later, Stauffer scored goal No. 3, officially giving GVSU its highest scoring output of the season and
putting the lead in a vice grip.

In the 41st minute, Stauffer fired into the lower 90 of the Northwood crease, recording her second
goal of the game and third of the season. Freshman forward Michelle Foote was credited for the assist.

In the 46th minute, freshman forward Erika Bradfield concluded the scoring with a goal courtesy of an
assist from Stauffer, who now has four helpers on the year. For the next 44 minutes, the Lakers
cruised.

“Kendra (Stauffer) has been our most consistent forward so far this year, but you always want to be
careful with the expectations you put on freshmen,” Dilanni said. “They are still freshmen, but Kenny
is a very smart, very technical soccer player and has done a great job of creating opportunities this
season. Good things just happen when the ball finds her foot.”

GVSU (4-0-0 in the GLIAC) will finally return home for the first time since Sep. 15 on Friday (Oct. 4) at
7 p.m. to take on Malone (3-3-1).

“It’s always better to sleep in your own bed,” Dilanni said. “We’ve been on the road an awful lot, but I
have been really impressed in our young team, our developing leadership and the direction they’re
taking us. We’ve earned the right to have a couple weekends at home and we’re excited to be back.”

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