Holland Reporter

The Grand Valley State women's soccer team, ranked No. 5 nationally, will begin its 2025 season with two away games. The Lakers open against No. 16 Ashland on Thursday, September 4 at 6:30 PM, followed by a match at Cedarville on Saturday, September 6 at 2:30 PM.

This season marks the debut of Katelyn Longino as head coach for the Lakers. Longino is the sixth head coach in program history and comes to Grand Valley State after seven seasons as associate head coach at the University of Iowa. "Longino was named the sixth head coach in program history and joins the Lakers after spending seven seasons as an associate head coach at the University of Iowa. During her time at Iowa, Longino helped lead the Hawkeyes to two BIG Ten Tournament Championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances."

Grand Valley State returns 15 players from last year’s squad, including five who started in their Elite Eight match. Senior defenders Kacy Lauer and Mackenzie Ford are expected to anchor a defense that allowed only nine goals during the 2024 season. Lauer received recognition as a United Soccer Coaches third team All-American and earned first team All-Region and All-GLIAC honors last year. Ford played every minute in 16 matches and was among the top five players in minutes played.

On offense, sophomore Sarah Fromm returns after leading the team with five goals as a freshman. Junior forward Alli French also returns; she was named an All-GLIAC performer last season with four goals and eleven points.

The Lakers welcome five transfers and eight freshmen this fall. Midfielder Sonya Mehta arrives from Iowa, while defender Acadia Murphy transfers from Ball State after three seasons there. Freshmen Cora Conley, Cole Lance, and Ivy Wilhelm are also expected to contribute.

Goalkeepers Sara Csernyik and Macie Hunter are competing for the starting position this season. Csernyik is a redshirt freshman transfer from Saint Francis, while Hunter joins as a true freshman.

This will be the third straight year that Grand Valley State opens its season against Ashland. The Lakers won their previous meeting 1-0 in Allendale to start the 2024 campaign. Historically, GVSU holds a record of 22-11-2 against Ashland, which finished last season with a 17-2-2 record and exited in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The matchup against Cedarville marks their fifth all-time meeting; GVSU leads that series 4-0-0, including a win during last year’s opening weekend.

Both games will be streamed live on FloSports. More information can be found at gvsulakers.com for live video links and stats updates.