Tori Byrne Portfolio

October 2, 2024 8:47 PM

On September 29th, the No. 16 ranked Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team continued its legacy of dedicating a game toward seniors.  

Senior Day honors the student-athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field. Before the match, the team sets aside ten minutes of the warmup to gather in unity. Continuing players form parallel lines to create a tunnel to highlight the seniors walking onto the field. One by one, every senior proudly marches through the tunnel accompanied by family and loved ones. As each senior steps onto the field, an announcement of their career successes and gratitude is displayed vocally and physically with flowers. Emotions flooded the field for this precious moment. Head coach Katie Hultin expressed the importance of carrying on the legacy for her seniors. 

“It’s honoring their commitment and loyalty to the program, the university, the athletic department, their career,” said Hultin. “(It’s) Making sure we play for them and honor them for everything they have done for the program.”

Grand Valley’s women’s soccer team honored five seniors: Midfielder Nina Ferraro (11), Midfielder Emma Chudik (17), Defender Daan Louwerse (18), Defender Stephanie Sturgeon (27), and Midfielder Ryann Fetty (34). All players come from different backgrounds, but all have a common love for soccer. Fetty expressed what senior night means to her.

“To me it shows how much the girls look up to us and love us, we are tighnit. We walk into the locker room and it is all decorated,” said Fetty. “It’s a night to celebrate our accomplishments, but also look at how we lead the team.”

The Lakers defeated Parkside 3-0 with heightened emotions and dedication to the seniors. Within the first 10 minutes, GV set the tone of the game with a high intensity offense putting up eight shots, four of them on goal. Pressurizing Parksides defense, GV earned seven corner kicks with six for them leading to shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of play. Parkside shut down GV’s aggressive offense until the 43rd minute, where Junior Kacy Lauer scored an unassisted goal over Parksides goalkeeper Lola Minic. At the end of the half, GV lead 1-0 with twenty total shots, nine corner kicks, and 67% possession control. Graduate student Kennedy Bearden (4) lead GV with four shots on goal. 

In the first five minutes of the second half, GV continued the momentum with five shots. Overwhelming Parksides defense, Ferraro charged down the field feeding graduate student Taylor Reid on the right side of the field who crossed the ball to the middle of the box for Chudik to bury the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal. Chudik’s goal in the 54th minute increased GV’s lead to 2-0 and became her third goal of the season. As a leader in points for the team, Chudik expressed who she dedicated the goal for. 

“I would dedicate it to my whole team. I know everyone has my back and I want to show them that I have theirs too.” 

GV added a third goal in the 79th minute to make it 3-0 from a play created by Junior Amanda Palmer crossing the ball from the left side to Fetty finishing the goal in the bottom right corner. Ending the half and the game, the Lakers had a total of thirty nine shots on goal, twelve total corner kicks, and second half possession of 62%. Chudik and Bearden lead the team with five shots on goal. Reid and Palmer each had an assist, plus trailed Chudik and Bearden with four shots on goal. 

Concluding senior night with a win against Parkside shows the strong foundation and team dynamic of Grand Valley’s women’s soccer team. Senior Chudik and Fetty showed their leadership by putting up points for the team and leading their team to victory. Going into her third season as head coach, Hultin explained what sets this group of seniors apart from previous years. 

“They have really built the culture that I hoped to have when I got here and they are the foundation of that,” Hultin stated. “They live the culture everyday and help it evolve into something really special, they are phenomenal leaders as well.” 

Grand Valley’s women soccer team will host Purdue Northwest on Friday October 4th at 3 PM.