Dec. 20, 2007

Kansas City, Kan. - A year after winning the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award, Grand Valley State head coach Dave DiIanni was named the NSCAA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year. This is the second year in a row that DiIanni has won the honor. DiIanni led the Lakers to a school-best 21-1-1 record this season and a second consecutive berth in the NCAA Final Four.

GVSU was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the NSCAA rankings for nine consecutive weeks. They finished the regular season with a perfect 17-0-0 record, including a perfect 8-0-0 conference mark. They then defeated Northern Michigan and Mercyhurst in the GLIAC Tournament to claim their third straight GLIAC Championship. In the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Lakers defeated Mercyhurst in a penalty kick session, their third win over Mercyhurst on the season.

For the third and fourth rounds of the tournament, Grand Valley travelled to Mankato, Minn., where they defeated Drury and Nebraska-Omaha in order to earn a berth in the Final Four. There, the Lakers saw their season come to an end in a 2-1 loss to Tampa, the eventual national champion. The two goals allowed against Tampa were the most the Lakers gave up all season long.

DiIanni led the Lakers to many school records this past season. The 88 goals that the Lakers scored were the most by a GVSU team in school history. They also set a school record by recording 70 assists. The Lakers ran up impressive streaks, including a 19-game win streak, a 22-game unbeaten streak and a 27-game home win streak. The 28-game home unbeaten streak that the Lakers continued this season is still active.