Courtesy of Zach Dirlam, Grand Valley State Sports Information
Composure in the most important moments of matches is a quality championship-caliber teams cannot do without. When things got physical, tense and, at times, chaotic, the Grand Valley State women's soccer team stayed the course, beating third-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside 1-0 in overtime to claim its sixth consecutive NCAA Midwest Regional Championship.
A 25-yard free kick, which was set up by a hand ball, from sophomore midfielder Marti Corby found the head of freshman forward Gabriella Mencotti in the middle of the 18-yard box. Mencotti flicked it onto goal, forcing Rangers goalkeeper Mallory Geurts off her line and into traffic. The punch save did not make it far, though, and redshirt senior defender Kaely Schlosser slid to the ground to kick in the match's only goal.
"Marti is very dangerous in delivering that ball. The shape of our runs into the box were all really organized, and they were hard and difficult to defend," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "We talked about picking (Gabriella) out as a target, because she is the tallest player on the field. We did that, which caused the goalkeeper to have to make a save in traffic. The right player, again, was in the right place at the right moment and ready to make plays."
"I told the girls it was an outstanding, gritty performance, especially the way we started the match."
What Hosler briefly alluded to was the opening 15 minutes of the match. The No. 11 Lakers were clearly being outplayed.
Had it not been for a pair of stellar saves, both on set pieces—when Wisconsin-Parkside is most dangerous—by senior goalkeeper Andrea Strauss, it could have hurt them on the scoreboard.
"(Andrea) was courageous off her line and held balls, too," said Hosler. "The one time a ball slipped through, she caught it on the way down."
Slowly but surely, GVSU began to build, connecting on passes at a higher rate to generate scoring chances. One of those opportunities came shortly after instinctive Katie Bounds came off the bench. The junior forward battled with Geurts for a ball in the air, which wound up on the feet of Mencotti with no one protecting the goalmouth. Although a Wisconsin-Parkside defender turned her shot away, Bounds' tenacity served as a shot of adrenaline for a team in dire need of positive momentum late in the half.
"(Wisconsin-Parkside) was outworking us for parts of the first half," Hosler told his team at halftime. "The second half, we rose to the physical challenges of the game."
The Lakers emerged from their heated tend with an altogether different mentality. For all but a few moments, GVSU took the match to the Rangers the rest of the way. By maintaining possession and knocking the ball around a wide pitch, the Lakers wore down Wisconsin-Parkside.
Nothing got past it either. A defensive unit that yielded four shots in the opening frame stiffened, allowing just one attempt in the final 45 minutes. The club's unparalleled fitness level also had a hand in its ability to turn back nearly every Rangers run.
"As the second half wore on, our fitness level showed," said Hosler. "What got us there was the fact we were willing to work harder than them in the second half."
But, once regulation play came to an end, GVSU had nothing to show for its dominance. All Hosler could do was commend his club's effort and hope it would eventually produce a goal. Everyone in uniform, however, was more than just hopeful.
"It could have been really easy to come off the field after 90 minutes and be disappointed, or frustrated," sad Hosler, before discussing the Lakers' composure. "They just had a sense that (a goal) would come. They could feel it coming."
And they were right.
Six minutes into overtime, GVSU ended the match. It was just the sixth goal Wisconsin-Parkside allowed during its previously unbeaten campaign.
Schlosser, a converted forward, wasn't quite sure if she should have been going forward on the game-winning set piece. In fact, she even asked Hosler just seconds before the play began. Scoring the lone goal was not all Schlosser did for the Lakers, though. Time after time, she created offensive opportunities with long runs from her center back position.
"Kaely did that all day for us," said Hosler. "That's her trying to will this team to a victory."
Moreover, Corby won the praise of her head coach as well.
"Marti was fantastic. She didn't turn it over much, and, if she did, it was because she was trying to make a dangerous play for us," said Hosler. "She created a lot of chances going forward on the ball for us."
The road does not get any easier from here. In order to reach the NCAA Semifinals for a sixth consecutive season, GVSU will have to get past another unbeaten club: No. 10 Central Missouri. The Jennies, who are 21-0-2, topped undefeated No. 1 Minnesota State 3-2 in the Central Regional Championship on Friday (Nov. 21).
GVSU faces Central Missouri in the NCAA Quarterfinals at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday (Nov. 23).
