The Grand Valley State University soccer team rumbled into Ohio this weekend, bringing with them their shooting shoes and bundle of goals that had been eluding them so far this conference season.

The first game in a five game road trip was a simple one for the Lakers, dispatching struggling Malone University, 8-0. Adding plenty of offense to an already stingy back line that has only allowed two goals so far in 11 games this season.

“It was good, made a statement offensively the last couple games,” said head coach Dave DiIanni. “Goal scoring is a confidence thing, getting (senior Ashley) Botts and Kayla Addison some goals is only going to be good for the team as we move on.”

Three of the Laker’s eight goals on the night were scored by senior forward Maria Brown, who netted her third, fourth, and fifth goals of the season for her first career hat trick.

“It was nice, I got a lot of good balls from my teammates,” Brown said. “I just got them and tried to put them in the net.”

It was an important day for Grand Valley State University’s midfield as well. Senior Alyssa Mira, last year’s GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, got into the attack as well, pulling the strings to provide assists on three of the Lakers’ eight goals.

“It’s been good to play (offensively) a little more in the last couple games instead of sitting behind everyone,” Mira said. “We’re starting to figure each other out offensively with some goals we’re scoring now.”

The normally potent Laker attack has been stifled in the last few weeks by teams looking for a tie, but this weekend, the quality of the Lakers offense shone through.

“A lot of teams in our conference are sitting in against us,” Mira said. “It’s been hard for us to adjust to. But I think we’re finally starting to figure it out.”

‘Figuring it out’ may have been a bit of an understatement, as GVSU defeated Walsh University 3-0 on Sunday to bring there weekend goal total to a whopping 11-0.

“Anytime to you score eight goals on a team, it shows a little bit of your firepower,” DiIanni said. “I think coming into the Walsh game, today I saw it being a little more of an open game, but that wasn’t the case. Walsh might have changed there tactics after seeing the game on Friday.”

The Lakers seem to be firing on all cylinders, and they hope to continue their good form with some big conference game in the coming weeks.

“We have a huge game against Ferris State on Saturday,” DiIanni said. “So we get a couple days off to rest mentally and physically and we definitely got to get a win against our cross-town rivals.”

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