Holland Reporter

The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) women's lacrosse team is set to begin its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play this weekend. The Lakers will travel to face Northern Michigan and Concordia-St. Paul, aiming to maintain their position as the three-time defending regular season and conference tournament champions.

In their most recent game, the Lakers defeated the 13th-ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds with a score of 16-9. Hailey Crittenden was a standout player, scoring six goals and earning the titles of IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week and GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week. Ashleigh Rothe also performed well, securing four draw controls, three groundballs, and two turnovers while scoring three times. The Lakers have been strong defensively, leading the nation by allowing only 5.67 goals per game.

GVSU has an impressive record in GLIAC regular season games, having won 29 consecutive matches since 2019. This streak ties the longest in league history, a record previously set by GVSU from 2013 to 2016. Additionally, they have won five straight GLIAC Tournament games.

Northern Michigan is ranked second in the preseason GLIAC standings behind GVSU. Last year, they finished as league runner-up after losing to GVSU three times, including an 11-10 defeat in the GLIAC title game. This season, Northern Michigan holds a 9-2 record and features top offensive players like Minnie Bittell, who leads the conference in goals and assists. Defensively, they have caused 94 turnovers with Lauren Espisito recording a .466 save percentage.

Concordia-St. Paul enters this weekend with a 5-6 record after nonconference play and will face Davenport before playing against GVSU on Sunday afternoon. Susie Monson is notable for her performance with 44 points this season.

Both upcoming games can be followed through live stats and video coverage on gvsulakers.com or via @gvsuwlax on Twitter for updates.