The Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team ended an eight-game undefeated streak this weekend by tying in a match against Tiffin University 1-1 before downing the University of Findlay 3-1.

The first game featured the two top teams in the GLIAC with Tiffin University coming into the game atop the conference’s south division and the Lakers comfortably ahead in the north.

The Lakers struck first when Erin Mruz netted her ninth goal of the season a little more than 18 minutes into the game, but the Dragons countered 10 minutes later by scoring a goal on Chelsea Parise and the GVSU defense, something none of the last eight teams before Friday could do.

GVSU head coach Dave DiIanni said he was not excited with how his team performed against the GLIAC’s next-best team.

“It was a very competitive, physical game that I don’t think either team liked how they played,” he said. “We’re a possession style team, both Tiffin and us, and I think there were a lot of mistakes. They’re in first place in their division, and we’re first place in ours, and it just didn’t blend into a good game unfortunately.”

Tiffin entered the game riding a winning streak of their own, victorious in their last three games. The Dragons, who play on a smaller field than GVSU’s home surface, were able to hold down the powerful Laker offense.

“It took us a longer time than usual to make adjustments with our style of play,” said senior defender Jenna Wenglinski. “We let them dictate play rather than us dictating how the game went, but their field was rough and their team was very aggressive, and we didn’t adjust as well.”

Coming into the match, the Lakers had beat each of their last eight opponents by a combined score of 39-0. GVSU had scored at least two goals in each game and notched at least five goals in four of the eight during the team’s winning streak.

Sophomore forward Ashley Botts said the team struggled to adapt to playing on the road after wrapping up a five-game homestand.

“We had a really great week in practice, and that kind of didn’t reflect on how we did during the game,” she said. “We like to say we’re really good on the road, but yesterday just wasn’t a good game. It’s a hard field to play at with all the fans screaming. It’s a tough place to be in when you have a whole cheering section.”

The Lakers played their final road regular season game on Sunday in a 3-1 victory over Findlay and will now focus ahead on the upcoming GLIAC playoffs.

DiIanni said he expects more from his team as they hit the most important part of their season.

“We’d like to see some more consistency and play our roles well,” he said. “No matter who we play, we have to start showing some more momentum as we head toward the playoffs. I’d like to see us win out, take care of our conference, and we have a good opportunity to do that.”

The Lakers will wrap up their regular season at home on Saturday against Ferris State University. The GLIAC playoffs will begin three days later on Nov. 2.

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