Aug. 26, 2008

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State University's women's soccer team opens the season with a match against defending National Champion the University of Tampa on Friday, Aug. 29. The No. 3 Lakers and No. 1 Spartans are scheduled to kick off the season at 6 p.m. at the GVSU Soccer Fields in Allendale, Mich.

Grand Valley State returns its entire offense and midfield from last season, as well as their starting goalkeeper and one defender. Four seniors graduated last season, including three starting defenders and a backup goalkeeper. The Lakers' schedule will look a little different this season from the last, due to a change in conference scheduling.

Offense

The offense is led by two-time Daktronics Division II Player of the Year Katy Tafler. Over the past two seasons, Tafler has led Division II in both points per game and goals per game. Over the past season, she became Grand Valley State's all-time leader in points and goals, and she also set the school's single-season marks in those same categories.

Joining Tafler on the front line is last season's second-leading scorer, senior Ashley Elsass. Elsass finished the 2007 season with 15 goals and eight assists, both second on the team. Elsass set an NCAA Division II record last season by scoring three goals in 1:09 against Findlay. Junior Irie Dennis, who missed time in the 2007 season and started in just 17 games, will bring exceptional speed to the front line. She finished last season with five goals and four assists.

Jaleen Dingledine and Erika Pitroff, both sophomores, both saw brief starting time as freshmen last season. Dingledine started in two games and scored four goals, while Pitroff started in four matches and notched two goals. Senior Jamie Radley finished the season with six points in 21 matches of action last season and returns valuable experience to the unit. Lindsey Marlow is the lone incoming freshman that will challenge for time on the front line.

Midfield

Grand Valley State's midfield returns three starters from last season, including the 2006 GLIAC Freshman of the Year Katie Johnson and the 2007 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Kristen Eible. Senior Meaghan Robinson rounds out the returning starters.

Eible finished the season third in scoring for the Lakers, notching six goals and eight assists for a total of 20 points. Johnson, who started in 21 of GVSU's 23 games, scored twice, including the game-winner against Nebraska-Omaha in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Robinson was a dominant defensive presence for the Lakers all season long, winning free balls at midfield and challenging the opponents' attack. She finished the season with two goals and two assists.

Redshirt freshman Erin Mruz had a promising preseason camp before suffering a season-ending injury before the start of the regular season. Now fully healed, she will challenge for playing time immediately. Junior Natalja Stanski started three games last season and saw action in 21 matches total, recording two goals and four assists. Senior Joyce Rose also saw time in the starting lineup. Rose played in all 23 matches and started in one of them. She tallied three goals and four assists for a total of 10 points. Fellow senior Colleen Hillgard saw action in 15 matches and scored one goal. Richelle Hills enters as a true freshmanto add depth in the midfield.

Defense

The one position that the Lakers lost a significant portion of their starting lineup was the defense. Three of GVSU's starting four defenders graduated, including Daktronics, Inc. First Team All-Americans Sue Christenson and Kourtney Willert. Christenson also leaves GVSU as the program's all-time leader in games played (85).

Junior Amber Bloem started in all 23 games and notched two assists as part of the impressive Laker backline. GVSU's defense allowed just 70 shots on goal all season long, and only 10 of those were goals.

Senior Elena Sobolic saw action in 21 games, mainly as an outside back, and will provide speed on the outside. Junior Lauren King also received playing time in the backfield last season, entering 18 games and notching one assist in 427 minutes of action. Sophomores Jenna Wenglinski and Kylee Merino will also challenge for playing time. Wenglinski started two matches late in the season when Christenson went down with an injury. She played in 18 total games and scored one goal and one assist. Merino played in 14 games and scored a goal of her own.

Caitlin Boyak is the team's lone transfer this season, coming in from Madonna. Although she missed the 2007 season, Boyak started in 27 games in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Three freshmen will also provide depth at the defense position. Megan Brown, Katie Cunningham and Kayla Klosterman all enter this season to challenge for playing time.

Goalkeeping

Senior Kristina Nasturzio will provide the last line of defense for the fourth straight season. Nasturzio has appeared in 66 games, winning 58 of them. Last season, she recorded a goals-against average of 0.37 with nine shut outs. She was a Daktronics, Inc. First Team All-American for the second straight year after posting a record of 21-1-1 and allowing more than one goal in only one match.

Three other keepers will battle for the backup position. Sophomore Sam DeNio is back after her first year on the squad, following a one-year stint on the Laker women's basketball team. Freshmen Chelsea Parise and Erin Rappleye are both energetic keepers given a unique opportunity to train with an All-American goalkeeper.