Women’s soccer, cross country teams poised for national titles

Grand Valley’s women’s soccer team begins its pursuit of an eighth national championship this week as the NCAA Division II Tournament gets underway.

The Lakers (19-2, 13-1 GLIAC) secured the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region after a dominant regular season under first-year head coach Katelyn Longino. 

As the top seed, the Lakers will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Midwest Region at the GVSU Soccer Field and meet No. 8 seed Cedarville (12-3-5) at 3 p.m. on November 20. 

Tickets for the game are available on the GVSU Ticket Office webpage.

Fans can watch the match on the NCAA’s website, and live stats will be available on the GVSU Athletics website.

The winner advances to meet the winner of the matchup between No. 4 seed Maryville and No. 5 seed Northwood on November 22.

The Lakers enter postseason play on a 10-game winning streak and feature one of the nation’s toughest defenses, which ranks eighth nationally with a .429 goals-against average. 

Grand Valley captured its 16th GLIAC Tournament title with a 1-0 win over Saginaw Valley State on November 16.

This year marks Grand Valley’s 22nd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where the program holds a 66-12-9 all-time record.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Wisconsin this weekend for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 22.  

The women’s team, ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and the nation, aims to capture its second national title in three seasons and eighth overall. 

The men’s team, ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 4 nationally, looks to claim its first national championship since 2021 and third in program history. 

All-American Lauren Kiley leads the women’s squad and seeks to add to her stellar career. In 2024, Kiley swept the GLIAC, NCAA Midwest Region and NCAA national titles. This season, she has already repeated as champion at the GLIAC and regional meets.

All-American Allie Arnsman and Abigail VanderKooi also had strong showings at the regional meet, taking third and fourth places, respectively. All seven Laker runners finished in the top-15. 

At the men’s regional meet, the Lakers also placed their seven runners within the top-15 spots. All-American Koby Fraaza had the best Laker finish, placing third. Owen Westerkamp and Conor Somers finished in fifth and seventh places, respectively.

Livestreams and live results of the NCAA Division II championships will be available on the NCAA website. The women’s 6K race begins at 11 a.m.; the men’s 10K race starts at 12:15 p.m.