After the final whistle blew at the No. 4-ranked Grand Valley State soccer (12-2, 6-0 GLIAC) contest against Purdue University Northwest (0-11, 0-7 GLIAC), one team recorded a staggering 50 shots, while the other team had zero.

Luckily for the Lakers, they were the team bringing the high-shooting numbers, dominating on all cylinders during the team’s 9-0 victory over Purdue-Northwest under the lights at home Friday, Oct. 13. Out of the Lakers’ 50 shots, 26 of them were shots on goal.

With their high-pressing offensive game plan, the Lakers dominated the time of possession on offense, allowing little-to-no opportunities for Purdue-Northwest to gain any footing in the contest. GVSU head coach Jeff Hosler was pleased with his team’s offensive attack. 

“We’ve been in matches where we haven’t allowed a shot before, but I thought we just did a great job being organized in our pressing high up the field,” Hosler said. “Our midfield group played well to lift up the team.”

Leading the Lakers’ scoring outburst was junior midfielder Tara Lierman, who grabbed her first career hat trick. The three goals brought her season total up to a team-second 10 goals, but the junior had to credit her teammates for her scoring success.

“What’s been working for me is my teammates finding me and working for each other,” Lierman said. “We wanted to really put it to them and compete against ourselves to show what we’re really capable of.”

Hosler knew it was about time that Lierman finally reached the coveted hat-trick milestone. 

“I thought Tara was really good from start to finish,” Hosler said. “Today, it showed up in the stat sheet, but it doesn’t always show up there for Tara (about) her effectiveness on the field. It was time she got her turn.

“She was no question the player of the match.”

Freshman midfielder Gianna Parlove started the scoring outburst in the seventh minute after rifling in a goal in front of Purdue-Northwest’s goalkeeper after a crossing assist by Lierman. The goal was her fourth of the season and collegiate career.

Running the offense for the Lakers was senior midfielder Dani Johnson, who pushed the attack into Purdue-Northwest’s box. Lierman tacked on her first goal of the contest in the 20th minute after a centering assist by freshman forward Hannah Klingerman.

Six minutes later, senior Tracey McCoy joined the scoring party after an assist from Parlove to give the Lakers an early 3-0 lead. After the goal, coach Hosler took out the majority of the starting players for his younger talent, realizing the outcome was most likely in GVSU’s favor. 

“One of the things we take a lot of pride in our culture is competitiveness, and we got a lot of players a lot of minutes today,” Hosler said. “Our starters were able to get a break. We’re in the middle of a five-game stretch in nine days, so it’s important to rest some legs and get some kids opportunities.”

Finishing out the first half scoring for GVSU was junior defender Lindsay Ebeling, who beat her defender off the dribble to tack on her first goal of the season in the 29th minute. The Lakers led 4-0 heading into the second half.

The scoring outburst didn’t slow down in the second half, as the Lakers tallied five more goals to bring the score to its final 9-0 result. Second-half scorers for the Lakers were Lierman (two goals), junior Katrina Giantsopoulos (two goals) and freshman forward Ava Cook.

One bright spot for Purdue-Northwest came from their goalkeeper Lucie Ashmore, who saved 17 of GVSU’s 26 shots on goal.