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UNITED SOCCER COACHES - A pair of Grand Valley State standouts represented the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) on the 2017 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer All-America Team Wednesday (Nov. 29) as announced by the United Soccer Coaches association.

Grand Valley State senior forward Gabriella Mencotti was selected as a First Team selection to clinch her second careeer All-America honor, while her teammate senior forward Dani Johnson was named to the Second Team after the Lakers captured their eight consecutive regional title and 13th straight conference title.

Mencotti led the nation in goals for the second straight season, scoring 30 on the 2017 campaign after 29 goals a year ago. The Novi, Michigan native also led all of Division II in points in 2017 with 70. She has already earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year, first team all-conference, GLIAC Tournament MVP, CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year this season. The reigning D2CCA Player of the Year was an NSCAA (the organization now known as United Soccer Coaches) first team All-American in 2016.

Johnson, the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-GLIAC honoree, also earned first team all-region honors from D2CCA for the 2017 season. The holding midfielder proved vital to the strategy of the Laker defensive mindset this season. Her strong tackling and ball skills allowed for outside midfielders to apply pressure in the attacking third because of her lateral range and ability to take on attackers before they could penetrate the Lakers back line.