Grand Valley State University’s women’s soccer fell to Parkside, 1-3 on the road this past weekend in a struggle to fend off their second loss of the season.

The Lakers’ defensive line struggled early in the first half of the match as the Rangers maintained possession in GVSU’s half of the pitch.

After a short struggle in front of the Lakers’ goal, Parkside managed to get a successful shot off in their second and last attempt of the first half that found the back of the net to take the lead, 0-1 (9:59 marker).

Through the rest of the half, the Lakers’ offense pushed to even out the score with corner kick attempts and shots-on-goal that just couldn’t get inside of the goal. Frustrations were evident amongst the Lakers as the entire team was issued a yellow card at the 34:22 marker.

The remainder of the first would see two more missed shot attempts by the Lakers as all nine shots on the goal were unsuccessful. The halftime whistle would eventually be blown with the scoreboard still in favor of Parkside.

Eager to score, GVSU came out of the break with more pressure on their opponent in an attempt to even up the scoreline and close out the regular season series at 2-0 against the Rangers.

The Lakers took quick possession of the ball and pressured the opponent’s defensive line significantly. 

Five missed shot attempts later and preventing the Rangers from getting any offensive looks of their own, senior defender Cate Brown glided past the defense and put the ball directly in front of the net for senior forward Kennedy Bearden to rise above the crowded area and head the ball into the goal for her ninth of the season, 1-1 (64:31 marker).

With regained momentum, the Lakers were hoping to take complete control of the match. However, the team followed the goal with back-to-back mistakes on an offsides call and a foul by Bearden.

The halt of the pace would ultimately come back to bite the Lakers as just under 40 seconds after the foul call, the Rangers found the back of the net for the second to regain the lead, 1-2 at the 70:57 marker.

Another offsides infraction on the Lakers and a second yellow card, this time issued to Brown, just after the third goal of the match more or less sealed the deal for the Rangers as the team scored their third goal of the night less than two minutes later (1-3, 72:05 marker).

With the score standing at 1-3, frustrations rose once more with a third yellow card issued to senior defender Russell Brooke (73:33 marker) and yet another offside infraction was called on the Lakers.

Four more failed shot attempts by GVSU would add to their last-minute efforts to either finish in a draw or mount a comeback, but it would prove ineffective as the final whistle was blown and the Lakers took their first loss since the Sept 4. matchup against Minnesota State (0-1).

Although the Lakers took the first win in a dominant 3-0 shutout against the Rangers, head coach Katie Hultin stated that it’s never easy to close a series of any sort with a perfect record.

“We know that playing teams the second time around is always going to be tough,” Hultin said. “We created a ton of chances and didn’t take advantage of some clear opportunities, while Parkside capitalized on their only opportunities. We will refocus and learn from the day and be better from it.”

The Lakers will look to recover from the loss as they round out their regular season schedule on the road against Purdue Northwest on Sunday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Oct. 28 at Davenport University.