In the eyes of Grand Valley State women's soccer coach Jeff Hosler, teams go by the play of their midfielders. This certainly rang true for the No. 11 Lakers against Michigan Tech in the GLIAC Semifinals, as midfielders tallied three goals and three assists in a 5-0 victory.

"Our practices this week consisted of us pushing off our man and making sure we would be strong in the midfield, because we knew Michigan Tech was tough," said junior midfielder Katie Klunder, who tallied a goal and two assists.
 
Right from the opening kick, the Lakers controlled tempo and possession. This led to several dangerous runs early in the match, but a pair of offside calls negated the two most threatening chances.
 
Then senior forward Jenny Shaba got loose. The two-time All-GLIAC First Team selection ran past the entire Huskies' back line, giving her a clear shot at the goal. Although Jenna Phelps stopped the initial attempt, Klunder banged home the loose rebound at the 13:56 mark.
 
It would eventually go down as Klunder's second consecutive game-winning goal. The Calvin Christian High School alum is now tied for the team lead with four game-winning tallies.

Shaba's helper was her 16th of the year, breaking Erin Mruz's single-season assist record from the 2011 campaign.
 
As GVSU continued to wear down the Michigan Tech defense through sustained possession, junior forward Katie Bounds' fresh legs led to its second goal. Only seven minutes after Bounds had a one-on-one chance shut down, Klunder set her up all alone in the middle of the 18-yard box. This time, the Southfield, Michigan native would not be denied. Bounds fired a low, blistering shot off the hands of Phelps, who could do nothing but watch the ball roll over the goal line.

"The first half, I thought there were times we were a little impatient going forward," said Hosler. "But, by and large, we knocked the ball around really well in the first half. We scored early, which helped too, and that really settled the game down a bit. The second half, we were even better in our decisions of when to penetrate, versus when to possess."

"We valued possession in the final third better, in terms of our choices about when to go to goal, when to take shots, versus when to build for something better."

Determined to make amends for missed opportunities in the first meeting between these two clubs—a scoreless tie in Houghton, Michigan on Oct. 26—the Lakers refused to let up.
 
A little over 10 minutes into the second half, senior midfielder Charlie Socia got into the mix. Sophomore midfielder Marti Corby lofted a corner kick near the goal mouth, where Socia headed home her fourth tally of the year.
 
Seven minutes later, Shaba lined a shot past a diving Phelps to add another insurance goal.
 
Klunder and junior midfielder Maddison Reynolds linked up at the 83:55 mark to tack on the final tally. It was the first goal of Reynolds' collegiate career.

GVSU's contingent of midfielders also played excellent transition defense, limiting the Huskies to a mere three shots—only one came after the 31^st minute. It is the club's sixth shutout in as many matches. The club's back line quickly cleared out whatever managed to get past the mids. Clare Carlson, Alexis Mencotti, Juane Odendaal and Kaely Schlosser played the majority of the defensive minutes, but Alyssa Wesley, Tracey McCoy and Maria Farmer all saw valuable time as reserves along the back line.

"(The defense) played out of their minds today," said senior goalkeeper Andrea Strauss. "They were moving really well, clearing everything out, all the runners were accounted for. This defense is really on key right now. We are all clicking on the same page, and that's really important going into this part of the season." 
 
GVSU improves to 17-2-1 on the year and advances to its eighth consecutive GLIAC Championship match. The Lakers will face the winner of the Ohio Dominican-Ashland match on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"We are focused on tomorrow's (training) sessions and looking at the film to see what we need to do better for Sunday," said Hosler. "I don't think it matters to anyone who we play. We just need to make sure we are prepared and ready go."

Notes:
-GVSU is now 2-0-0 against Michigan Tech in the GLIAC Tournament
-The Lakers have scored five or more goals in six matches this season, which is tied with the 2005 and 2008 clubs for the sixth-most in a single campaign
-With her three points today, Jenny Shaba moved past Irie Dennis and Erin Mruz for the eight-most career points (94) in school history
-Shaba's lone goal of the day was the 31st of her career, moving her past Jaleen Dingledine and into a tie with Irie Dennis for the eighth-most program history
-Katie Klunder's four points usurped the career-high three points she tallied earlier this season at Findlay (Sep. 28)
-Maddison Reynolds became the 15th Laker to score a goal this season
-Andrea Strauss notched her 13th solo shutout of the year, tying her with Chelsea Parise (2009) for the sixth-most by a GVSU goalkeeper in a single season