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Nov. 11, 2005
Wilder, Ky. - The #2-seeded Grand Valley State Laker Soccer Team moved onto the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 1-0 victory against SIU-Edwardsville. Junior Shannon Carrier scored the Lakers lone goal two minutes into the second half on a ball that was misplayed by a SIUE defender. GVSU will take on the #1 seed in the region and host, Northern Kentucky at noon on Sunday, Nov. 13.
The Lakers and Cougars battled throughout the first half as each team tallied only two shots apiece. With 12 minutes to go in the half SIUE made a charge almost sneaking one past freshman goalkeeper Kristina Nasturzio. Nasturzio stopped the Cougar forward's first shot and was faced with another shot as soon as she rose to her feet. The second shot somehow found its way into Nasturzio hands as the Cougar charge was stopped.
GVSU and SIUE went into the half knotted at zero. The Lakers came out in the second half with more energy than they showed in the first and capitalized on a Cougar mistake just two minutes into the half. Freshman Ashley Elsass sent in a cross from the right side of the field that was cut off by a SIUE defender. The defender headed the ball back to the goalkeeper who was not anticipating the pass and watched as Carrier darted in to knock in the Laker goal.
"I saw that the keeper misplayed the ball and just ran through the keeper and the next thing I knew I was tangled in the net," Carrier said. "It's an amazing feeling, I'm happy we won."
Senior Jenny Swalec and freshman Meaghan Robinson controlled the ball in the middle of the field during the next 43 minutes and limited the Cougars opportunities. SIUE outshot the Lakers 5-2 in the second half but had a number of potential runs halted by the GVSU defense. SIUE made a late push to score when under a minute the Cougars battled for the ball less than seven yards from the goal and forced a late corner kick with 26 seconds left. Nasturzio grabbed the ball in a crowd of players and held onto the ball as the clock ran out.
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"Our back line played very well tonight and really led us to this win," Coach Dave DiIanni said. "We need to play better if we plan to win on Sunday."
The Lakers will have a day off before taking on the #1-seed and host Northern Kentucky at noon on Sunday, Nov. 13. It will mark just the second time in school history that the Lakers have reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. The only previous time occurred in 2003 when Grand Valley fell 3-4 to Northern Kentucky.
