COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - It is a time of firsts for the Lenoir-Rhyne women's soccer program. First trip to the NCAA Final Four, and first meeting against the No. 1 seed Grand Valley State Lakers from Allendale, Mich.
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The Bears won their region for just the second time in program history when they defeated Flagler in the Sweet 16, and now have gone further than any other team in the 32-year history of the program. Lenoir-Rhyne was seeded 7th in the Southeast Region, and are the only non 1-seed left in the tournament. On its way to the Final Four, the Bears defeated the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds in the Southeast Region to win the Regional Championship, and then defeated No. 5 seed Florida Tech from the South Region to reach the semifinal. This is the first time LR has been seeded lower than fifth in its eight trips to the Big Dance.
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LR is in the top-30 in the nation in goals against average, and goalkeeper
Grayson Cameron has been the star of this NCAA Tournament run. Cameron, a senior from Hickory, has only given up three goals in the entire postseason, including the NCAA Tournament and SAC Conference Tournament. The Bears have also been playing without 2nd-Team All-American defender
Ria Acton, who got injured at the end of the regular season and is expected to be done for the year.
Kate Casey and
Anna Schuller have stepped into much larger roles in Acton's absence and have been key to the Bears' defensive success in the postseason.
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In the last two wins, the Bears have used a similar formula for success. Both times, LR conceded the first goal in the game and were able to get a goal late in regulation to send the game to overtime.
Leonie Proessl scored the game-tying goal in the Regional Final against Flagler, and
Kara Gavaghan scored to tie the game in the quarterfinal against Florida Tech. The Bears were able to stalemate in both overtimes and get the game to penalty kicks, where Cameron has stopped a combined six PK attempts in the tournament. Senior captain
Madi Kyle is 3-for-3 in PKs during the tournament as well.
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LR will match up against a powerful GVSU offense that has outscored its opponents 10-1 in the NCAA Tournament. The Lakers are 22-1-2 on the year, with the one loss and both ties all coming to GLIAC rival Ferris State. GVSU has not conceded a goal since the first round of the tournament against Cedarville, a game they needed overtime to win 2-1.
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GVSU is in the top-10 in the nation in most every team offensive stat category. The Lakers rank first in the country in assists per game (3.20), second in points per game (9.36), first in total assists (80) and second in total goals (77).
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The Lakers have yet to play away from home during the NCAA Tournament, while LR has played every game on their run away from Hickory. GVSU finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The two teams will meet at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo., the home of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks of the USL.
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Grand Valley State is the reigning national champion from 2019. There was no NCAA Tournament in 2020. The Lakers won a crazy overtime national championship game against Western Washington back in 2019, they scored a goal in the 107th minute of double overtime to claim the program's sixth national championship, with three of those coming in the past six years. 3-time National Champion Head Coach Jeff Hossler left GVSU for Michigan State after the 2020-21 spring season, and the Lakers are now led by Jim Conlon, another national championship head coach from Washington University in St. Louis. Conlon led the Wash. U Bears to the Division III NCAA Tournament in all 12 of his seasons there, and reached the national championship game three times, winning once.
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Lenoir-Rhyne will try to mount yet another upset and continue their Cinderella run to the national championship. The winner of this semifinal will play the winner of Dallas Baptist and Saint Rose on Saturday (12/11) in the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship Game.
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