Meredith Hollar and her Grace College women’s soccer teammates are leaving the cold and snow of northern Indiana for the more hospitable atmosphere of Orange Beach, Alabama, for the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championships. (Photos by Mike Deak)

WINONA LAKE – The next time the Grace men’s and women’s soccer programs hit the pitch, it will feel like a vacation. While the two teams will be playing some of its toughest competition to date, neither team will have to face the bitter side of Mother Nature.

Playing in a virtual snow globe Saturday, Grace’s women’s soccer team defeated Park University 2-1 in a driving snow storm. While the snow calmed down for the second match featuring the men’s teams from Grace and Roberts Wesleyan, the middle 84 yards of the Miller Field pitch was a trampled bowl of popcorn, while the 18-yard boxes were mercifully plowed. Grace would win the men’s battle, 2-0, sending the Lancers to the NCCAA National Championship tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., while the Lady Lancers are headed to the NAIA Sweet 16 in Orange Beach, Ala.

Emma Neahusan

The women, in winning its first-ever NAIA tournament appearance, will face a very potent Westmont (Calif.) side. The Warriors demolished Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 6-0 in its first-round game Saturday. In doing so, Westmont took 25 shots by nine different players and had four different players score in the first half. This will be the second-ever meeting between the two teams, the last meeting at Westmont in 2013, a 2-0 Warriors win.

Westmont is led by a trio of high-powered offensive targets in Kelsey Steck (22 goals, 7 assists), Jackie Lopez (11 goals, 8 assists) and Brooke Lillywhite (8 goals, 8 assists). The Warriors have also put together quite a defensive showing to get to its lofty record, posting nine shutouts. If Grace wants to take control, likely the Lancers need to score early as Westmont has allowed only five goals in the second half of any match this season.

Grace (14-2-3) and Westmont will meet at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30. The winner will meet either No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) or Kansas Wesleyan in the Elite Eight Dec. 2.

“We are just blessed to be in this position,” said Grace College head coach Michael Voss. “We didn’t think this is how we would be getting by in a national tournament (the snow), but we’ll take it. The perseverance of these girls is incredible. I’m excited to move on in this tournament, and I know our girls are ready to go.”

The men, now 14-6-2, will make its third trip in five years to the NCCAAs. Grace won its two Midwest Regional matches at home against Oakland City (3-1) and Roberts Wesleyan.

Kyle Hamlin and the men’s soccer team at Grace will play in Kissimmee, Fla., in the NCCAA national tournament.

Entering as a four-seed, Grace is pooled with top-seed Belhaven (Miss.) and seven-seed Chowan (NC) for guaranteed matches against both schools. The top team after the three-team round robin will move on to the semi-finals.

Chowan (11-7-3) has won four games in a row in the month of November, allowing just two goals in that stretch. The Hawks are led by Terell Williamson, who has 18 of the team’s 37 goals this season. Grace’s matchup with Chowan is set for Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

Belhaven (13-3-1) received an automatic berth into the tournament based on regular season performance. The Blazers have a two-headed scoring machine in Lucas Talaveira-Befi (13 goals, 6 assists) and Cillian Thompson (12 goals, 3 assists). The two have combined for 148 shots and 72 of them on net. Belhaven hasn’t played since a 3-0 win against Texas Dallas on Halloween, and are winners of its last eight contests. In that stretch, Thompson has nine goals. The Grace-Belhaven contest is set for Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.

“That was definitely an adventure, and the guys will be telling that story for the rest of their lives,” Grace College men’s soccer coach Matt Hotchkin said. “We are happy to be able to move to a more soccer friendly temperature. We will get down to Florida a couple of days before our first game, so that will give us a chance to prepare in those conditions. Right now we are practicing inside our gym, so the southern teams are currently at an advantage.”

Added Hotchkin about his two opponents, “Both are good teams, with Belhaven even winning the NAIA national championship just a couple years ago. Both are southern teams, and so they are likely getting a few days more to prepare in their execution. But, we will be ready.”