Grace College senior Mallory Rondeau will lead her team into the NAIA National Championships with a first-round home match on Saturday (Photos provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – The Grace College women’s soccer team is loaded with talented young ladies who excel at an extremely high level both in the classroom and on the pitch.

The members of the history-making squad should be excused the rest of this week though if their minds wander a little away from the academic side of the student-athlete equation to their next athletic competition.

The anticipation and excitement abound for coach Michael Voss’ team as they prepare to host the first-ever NAIA national tournament event in Grace College athletics history.

Grace, ranked No. 12 in the country, will host Park University (Missouri) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Miller Field in the opening round of the 32-team national championship tournament. The Lancers, who are 14-2-3, received an at-large bid to the event on Monday.

The Lancers are led by a stellar senior class some nine strong. The star of that group is forward Mallory Rondeau, a former standout at Wawasee High School.

“This means a lot to us and is something our seniors have dreamed about for four years,” said Rondeau in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s been in our reach the past couple of years and now it’s here. It’s a good feeling to make history. We’re proud of how far we have gotten.”

Rondeau and her senior teammates have led the Lancers to 61 wins in their careers. The 61 victories ties the program record for a class.

Rondeau leads the Lancers with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. Rondeau, the Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, has booted home five game winning goals this season.

Grace will play for the first time on Saturday since a 1-0 loss at home to Marian in the semifinals of the Crossroads League Tournament back on Nov. 7.

“The time off was good for us,” Rondeau said. “We needed it to recover.”

Grace also relies heavily on another former local star in a big, big way. Junior Meredith Hollar, who starred at Warsaw Community High School, has eight goals this season. The standout forward, like Rondeau, has five game winning goals to her credit.

Hollar has been a story of perseverance the last several years. She missed her junior season at WCHS in 2011 due to a knee injury. Hollar has also then had to battle through more injuries while at Grace.

“I think that all of us feel extremely blessed for this opportunity,” said Hollar Tuesday. “It’s a huge blessing. I think that for me it’s even more special to have an this opportunity to play another game. I know how quickly it can be taken away from you with what I’ve been through.”

Grace went 17-5-3 last year and reached the NCCAA National Championship match. The squad this year has climbed even higher.

“I think a lot of this success has to do with the leadership of our senior class,” Hollar noted. “Their desire and motivation for us to hit our mark. It’s going to be a special day on Saturday for all of them playing their last ever home game.”

Rondeau says that it’s all about unity come Saturday.

“The key is for us to play together and for everyone to play their best at the same time,” remarked Rondeau. “We just need to all come together and play to our potential. We have a tough road ahead of us, but we are going to do everything we can to win on Saturday.”

Voss, now in his ninth season at Grace,  knows he has quite a special group, including his dynamite duo of Rondeau and Holler.

“This is fun, enjoyable and fulfilling because of the good people that we have here on this team,” Voss said. “Mallory and Meredith are special people. The joy they bring to our program with their attitudes, character and personalities. They are fantastic futbol players, but it’s the intangibles that they have as people.”

“We’re ready. We feel like we have been at this level the past couple of years and just missed making the NAIA Tournament. We’re excited to take this moment and we’re thankful for it.

“These girls have been relentless in their preparation for this since the offseason. I think the break was good for us and this team is peaking at the right time. We have a great seed and draw and good matchups. This team can win this whole tournament.”

The Grace senior class, whose overall record is 61-19-11 (including 27-5-6 in league play), is led by Rondeau and Carianne Sobey, Sobey has five goals and three assists and was the Crossroads League Midfielder of the Year for the third straight season. The senior group also features Heather Martin, Faith Voehringer, Meghan Wiles, Jordan Hargrove, Darcy Johnston, Erica Manchess and Jerusalem Groves.

The Lancer roster also has plenty of local flavor with Rondeau, Hollar, sophomore goalie Abby Schue (Warsaw), senior defender Martin (Bremen), freshman defender Clair Snodgrass (Warsaw) and sophomore defender Carlie Salinas (NorthWood).

Grace will earn a berth in the Sweet Sixteen in Orange Beach, Alabama with a win Saturday.

Meredith Hollar, who starred at WCHS, is a force on the pitch for the Lancers.