Courtesy of Kevin Meyer, Grand Valley State Sports Information Graduate Assistant
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- After a dominant regular season, the Grand Valley women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA semifinals off of two significantly closer games. In Thursday's semifinal match against Western Washington, the Lakers wasted no time in striking a crucial early blow, scoring a pair of goals in the first nine minutes of the half.
It was a familiar story for the Lakers this season, as they have made a point of striking early and often. In the 38thminute, forward Gabriella Mencotti popped up a feed into the box off of her head. Junior Jayma Martinquickly capitalized on the ball as it came down , firing a high volley into the net to give the Lakers an early 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, the duo of Mencotti and Martin would set up another Laker goal. A Martin cross into the box was fired at the goal by Mencotti. The shot was saved into the crossbar by Viking goalkeeper Ashley Haden, and the ball bounced out in front of the goal. Junior Kendra Stauffer won the race to the loose ball and fired the ball into the back of the open net for her 15th goal of the season.
The Lakers got a good look at the goal with 16 minutes left, as a series of beautiful passes between Marti Corby and Gabriella Mencotti gave Mencotti a shot on goal, albeit at a tough angle. Haden made the save however, keeping the Laker lead at two, where it would stay until the four minute mark, when the Vikings would convert a set piece into a goal.
Looping a long corner kick into the far side of the box, the Vikings got a goal from center back Delanee Niles off of a header from the far side of goal with just under four minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to 2-1 heading into halftime.
Coming out strong in the second half, Grand Valley scored a third goal just 30 seconds into the second half, and once again, it was courtesy of Jayma Martin. Martin took a low cross into the box off the foot of Kendra Stauffer and fired a low shot past the keeper for her second goal of the game, and tenth of the season.
Facing renewed pressure by the Vikings in the 33rd minute, the Lakers yielded a corner kick, a dangerous opportunity for the Vikings. An ensuing shot inside the box was saved by a diving Emily Maresh, however, keeping the score at 3-1. Maresh ended another corner threat at the 26 minute mark, rising above the crowd to corral the ball.
The Lakers continued to get good looks in the second half off of outside crosses into the box. In the 29 minute, Katie Bounds floated in a long cross, which Dani Johnson deflected to Marti Corby. Corby's low and powerful shot was on target, but saved by Haden. Minutes later, Grand Valley turned a corner kick into a high curling shot by Corby, but the play was whistled offsides.
Marti Corby set up her own shot with a beautiful spin move at midfield. Racing down to the outer box, she fired a shot past the reach of the Viking goalkeeper, but the shot floated high and hit the crossbar in the 17th minute.
Things got interesting as time wound down in the second half , as Western Washington scored in the 15thminute off of an own goal by Grand Valley, cutting the lead in half.
Trying to answer back in the 11th minute, Marti Corby fired a short cross into the box for Katie Bounds, but Haden stepped in front of the cross and cut off the pass to end the threat.
The Vikings would threaten again with just 6 minutes left in the half off of a corner kick. Delanee Niles got a great look at goal, but her header went wide of goal to end the threat.
For the remaining five and a half minutes, the Lakers would limit possession for the Vikings, throttling any good opportunity to tie the game. With the win, the Lakers match the win total of the 2014 squad with their 22nd win, and will advance to their third straight NCAA Division II National Championship to face off against Columbus State, 3-1 winners of the other semifinal vs. Bridgeport University.
