LAKELAND – Florida Southern's three senior All-Americans guided the No. 9 Moccasins to a 17-12 victory over No. 20 Grand Valley State in their season opener at Bryant Stadium Friday night.

Attacker Caitlin Chase (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) and midfielders Megan Asper (Parkton, Md.) and Lorianne Hoover (Annapolis, Md.), all recipients of All-American honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) in 2014, combined for 15 of FSC's 23 points. Asper led the group with five goals and Hoover finished a game-high six points on three goals and three assists. Chase scored twice and earned a pair of assists.

In addition to her quintet of goals, Asper won a game-high seven draw controls. Hoover collected game highs with six ground balls and four caused turnovers.

The Mocs (1-0) found themselves in an early hole as the Lakers (0-1) received consecutive goals from Erika Neumen, a Division I transfer from Hofstra University. The sophomore midfielder scored two of her team-high five goals inside the first three minutes of the opening half. GVSU continued to win possessions on the ensuing draw controls, and seniors Brooke Ingraham and Victoria Devine put the Lakers up 4-0 with back-to-back goals 38 seconds apart.

"We were just allowing them to come straight through, so we really talked about making sure we were adding that pressure on the body and then crash well, and then focusing on our ground balls," said FSC head coach Kara Reber. "We were getting crushed on ground balls and draws. I told the team we should be losing because they won the first four draws."

Asper had three opportunities to cut into GVSU's early lead, but sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Zwilsky denied the FSC senior each time, earning the first three of her 11 saves against the reigning First-Team All-American.

The Mocs finally got on the board when Chase found Ashley Robertson (Ellicott, City, Md.) with a pass from behind the net as junior attacker cut across the top of the crease from left to right.

It appeared, however, that the Laker midfielder Carolyn Krause had extended the lead back to four goals 1:12 later, but following a stick check, Krause's stick was deemed illegal.

"I think a crucial thing that happened is when I called that stick check and that stick was illegal," Reber said. "At least we were able to pull something in our favor for that."

It took only 16 seconds for freshman midfielder Emily Santoli (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) to respond with a free-position goal on the other end of the field, turning what was nearly a four-goal deficit into a 4-2 game.

Down 6-3, Hoover scored a pair of free position goals at 9:29 and 8:23, and freshman attacker Meghan O'Brien (Rochester, N.Y.) tied the game at 6-all with her first career goal less than a minute later.

Neumen added her third of the first half to give the Lakers a 7-6 advantage heading into the locker room.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth until the Mocs, down 11-10 with 17:01 to go in the second half, tallied seven unanswered goals. Asper and sophomore midfielder Kendall Kerge (Edgewater, Md.) each scored a pair during the run, while Hoover added a goal and all three of her helpers.

"Going into the locker room it really felt like we had lost the game," Reber said. "We talked a lot about coming out an acting the part, making sure we were more confident and feeling like this was a victory within our grasps. It was a mentality change and it helped a lot."

Asper netted the eventual game-winner, her fifth of the game, on a free-position shot with 11:17 to go, giving FSC a 13-11 lead.

Goalkeeper Taylor Gillis (Bel Air, Md.) entered the game in relief of starter Meghan Colucci (Glocester, R.I.), a senior attacker-turned-goalie, after Krause scored GVSU's ninth goal at 24:15 in the second half. The 5-11 sophomore only needed to make one save and earn her first career win.

"It was not anything on Colucci's part at all," Reber said. "It was a new look, whether it was for us to have a new look to see what a second goalie could do or to throw something different at the other team. It was to have something different going on back there."

The Moccasins return home on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. to take on the defending NCAA Division II national champions from Adelphi. Last season, the Panthers went a perfect 22-0 en route to the title.