By Kevin Lopez
The Raiders were looking for a bounce-back win after their loss against Schoolcraft College, and that’s exactly what happened when the Grand Rapids Community College women’s soccer team routed Lake Michigan College, 6-0 on Sept. 6.
It seemed that the Raiders could do no wrong in the first half as they showed off their communication skills and teamwork. That kept Lake Michigan from scoring, only allowing five shots at the goal.
Their lockdown defense gave Abby Buttermore, a forward from Cedar Springs, the opportunity to score three goals in the first half.
Buttermore leads the team with eight goals on the season, which is leading the team.
GRCC’s head coach, Jason Hill, was happy with his freshman captain’s performance against Lake Michigan.
“She is definitely a threat up top, but she works so hard for her team,” Hill said. “She is a great player… She is an absolute gem to have on the team.”
Buttermore wanted the attention to remain on the team.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to stay positive. I feel like being captain that’s a big part of leading the team,” Buttermore said. “Just staying positive and lifting everybody up and making sure everyone is playing to their best potential.”
With Buttermore’s help, the Raiders went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Going into the second half, the Raiders kept up the pressure thanks to Allyson Seevers, a forward from Lowell, who scored two goals within minutes of each other thanks to an assist from Buttermore and Amelia Hancock, a midfielder from Lowell.
With the game seemingly out of reach, it appeared to get tense between opposing players as a yellow card was issued to Lake Michigan and many GRCC players seemed upset at their opponents’ antics.
Despite that, the Raiders continued to gel as a unit with the bench screaming in support of Clara Deyoung, a forward from Jenison, as she scored her first goal of the season with an assist from Hancock and Alexandria Ellsworth, a midfielder from Comstock Park.
That was the nail in the coffin for Lake Michigan as the buzzer sounded officially ending the game and giving the Raiders the much needed win.
This puts them at a 3-3 record and 2-3 conference record with a 3-1 home record.
Alena Amaya, a midfielder and co-captain from Grand Rapids, felt that an intensity shift was the key.
“I think we came in with more anticipation to win. We had more intensity in this game,” Amaya said. “We’re connecting better, and we have this intensity that gives us this expectation for ourselves to constantly succeed and to do well.”
Coach Hill said he was proud of his team for achieving their highest point total, along with the shutout.
“I’m just happy we got the shutout,” Hill said. ”We moved the ball well, we passed well, there are still things we need to work on, but overall I’m happy. We play this team again Saturday on their home turf, and they are going to want revenge, so we’re going to have to play smart.”
Amaya reiterated the same message that Coach Hill was sending.
“I think keeping ourselves grounded and humble, but also playing with an intensity is important,” Amaya said. “Just playing hard, just doing what we’re used to doing, which is just playing soccer and being clean about it.”
The Raiders look to notch their first road win of the season when they play Lake Michigan College again at 2 p.m. on Sept. 9 in Benton Harbor.
