In front of a packed Kelly Family Sports Center, Grand Valley State University’s men’s Lacrosse team handed Davenport University a hard fought 16-14 defeat.

“It was a great back and forth battle, there were lots of forced turnovers, lots of goals in transition, and lots of back and forth battling,” said senior Jake Seiler. “It was a physical game and it was back and forth the whole game.”

The game, which was recently scheduled and played as a benefit game, was played to help raise money for the Seiler family, who recently lost their family home to a fire.

“It was back and forth until halftime when we were tied 9-9,” Seiler said. “We were able to build a little bit of a lead, I think it was about 15-10 and then they ended up having a few goal run.”

The close game came as no surprise to the Lacrosse community as over half of the recent games between the two teams have been decided in overtime.

Even though the game was played against cross-town rivals, the fan turnout exceeded all expectations.

“It was absolutely insane how many people were there,” Seiler said. “We moved our benches that we normally sit on which are four-row benches and we had about forty yards of them on the track. We stacked them on the track so we had those full, the stands were full, and there were people standing. I have never seen the stands that full ever.”

For Seiler and his family, the turnout and the donations were completely overwhelming.

“It is just humbling, awesome, and a blessing, and it’s so hard to put it into words how lucky I am to be a part of the lacrosse community in West Michigan,” Seiler said. “It’s such a tight community and even between two rivals like Davenport and us to see the commentary and sportsmanship between the teams and how many people came out to support us.”

In the coming days, the Seiler family will be moving into a cottage on Lake Macatawa, which they can live in free of charge until their house can be rebuilt.

Seiler and his family want the public to know how thankful they are for all the generosity they have experienced in the past week.

“I just want them to know how grateful I am to be a part of such a great community,” Seiler said. “I just want everyone to know how wonderful everyone has been and how humbling it has been to see how great people can be and how people can come together for a great cause.”

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