The conference season is underway for the Grand Valley State University men’s lacrosse team, and just like in the team’s first Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association match-up, GVSU poured it on and rolled to an easy win.

On the season so far, the Lakers (8-0, 2-0 CCLA West) are outscoring opponents 177-51 and sit tied atop the CCLA West standings at 2-0 with rivals Ferris State University, all sitting undefeated on the season. Their latest victim, Calvin College, suffered a 27-2 pounding on Saturday as GVSU cruised to another easy win.

“It’s another huge victory for us,” said junior attacker Jack Dumsa, who tallied four goals and two assists against the Knights. “Games like this really boost our confidence, and we are meshing together well. We are playing to our potential but still have a lot to accomplish this year.”

While wins have come easy in the last few games – the team has outscored its opponents 71-10 in its last three games – the nation’s No. 1 team knows that it has a long way to go before it can say it has accomplished anything truly important, said sophomore midfielder Tyler Farmer.

“We need to stay focused on the task at hand,” he said. “Coach Murray stresses every day that we still haven’t accomplished what we want to accomplish: a national championship. I think the main thing is to focus and push each other each day while continuing to work hard to reach that goal.”

Junior midfielder Daniel Mac Donnell echoed his teammate’s sentiments by saying that despite beating both the good (Davenport University, University of St. Thomas) and the bad (Siena Heights University, Calvin) this season, the Lakers still have a lot to prove in the four weeks before CCLA Playoffs begin.

“Our first half of the season was excellent — everyone had a chip on their shoulder and were working hard and were out to prove something,” Mac Donnell said. “Now that we’re No. 1 in America, we still have something to prove, and the season is not over. The mentality that we will have over the next couple weeks will be like what we had before our No. 1 ranking.”

For the time being, however, the team is having a lot of fun and hopes to continue to as it begins the home stretch toward playoffs.

“We’re having a great time, and I think it comes down to our team chemistry,” Mac Donnell said. “It’s phenomenal. Everyone is friends with everybody off the field, and I think that constitutes to how well our season is going and how much fun we’re having. I’ve always said that lacrosse is fun but only if we’re winning, and I think that holds true this year.”

GVSU has certainly done its fair share of winning, but the Lakers have a few tough match-ups in April. These games start with Grove City College in Pennsylvania on Friday and continue with the University of Dayton on April 16. The Lakers will also face Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday.

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