ST. LOUIS, Mo. – It was the first game of a new era Thursday afternoon at the Maryville Soccer Field in St. Louis as the Missouri S&T women's soccer team, under the direction of first-year head coach
Jane Grimley-Gunn, took the pitch opposite defending NCAA Division II champions and preseason #1 Grand Valley State. The Lakers (1-0-0) struck first early and were able to add two more goals over the course of the day while stifling the Miners' (0-1-0) attack for most of the match, going on to take the season-opener for both teams by a score of 3-0.
GVSU got on the board first, scoring the opening salvo at the 5:01 mark in the first.
Sydney Gratz (Geneva, IL/Geneva) managed the Miners' lone shot of the half, an on-target volley saved by the keeper at 28:12.
The Lakers doubled their lead with just under 10 minutes in the half, finding the net from long-range to make it 2-0 as the half came to a close with the defending champions holding a 5-1 edge in shots.
S&T's only other shot attempt of the game came in the first 62 seconds of the second half when
Brittney Hahn's (Madera, CA/Clovis West) attempt was on target, but was saved by the keeper.
The last goal of the game came just a few minutes into the second half, as Grand Valley played a cross into the box that found its way into the lower right corner of the goal to make it 3-0, which ended up being the final tally after 90 minutes of play.
S&T netminder
Viktoria Johnson (Granite City, IL/Granite City) recorded three saves on the day against 15 shots faced from a high-octane GVSU offense.
Up next, S&T will host Missouri Southern at 12 P.M. in Rolla.
