Men’s Soccer

If you look up the word “resilient” in the dictionary, you just might see Grace’s men’s soccer team pictured.

The Lancers were facing a 1-0 deficit with eight minutes left against Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday in a crucial late-season matchup.

After the dust had settled on the final frantic eight minutes, the Lancers came away with a 2-1 victory at 1st Source Bank Field.

The win means the Lancers (8-4-4, 5-2-1 Crossroads League) can secure second place in the league standings on Saturday by beating Goshen. Saturday’s match at Goshen is the regular season finale and starts at 7 p.m.

The Cougars (7-10, 2-6 CL) scored in the opening five minutes of the match, putting Grace in an aggressive position for the rest of the half.

The Lancers dominated possession and chances for the rest of the match in pursuit of an equalizer. For the match, Grace outshot MVNU 22-7 and had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

On a frigid fall night, Grace had to wait nearly 83 minutes to find an equalizer. The game-changing moment came on a free kick. 

Breno Oliveira tried a low, hard shot on the free kick from well outside the penalty box. His shot was blocked by MVNU’s goalkeeper and rebounded softly inside the penalty box. Damon Binkley alertly possessed the ball and laid back a pass to Ulisses Miranda, and Miranda finished off his shot in front of the goal at the 82:54 mark.

Grace continued to attack and soon after found a well-worked winner. Miranda and Joshua Coupar combined on an intricate give-and-go play on the left side of the box. Coupar then quickly passed to Nikola Djordjevic in the center of the box, and Djordjevic finished off Grace’s comeback by slamming his shot into the net in the 88th minute.

Of Grace’s 22 shots, eight were on goal. Oliveira tried five shots, and Colin Cape had four. Cody Boerema and Miranda each had three shots.

The match was physical, featuring 24 fouls and eight yellow cards.

Volleyball

Grace’s volleyball team earned a crucial win in five sets on the road against Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday night.

After taking a commanding 2-0 lead, the Lady Lancers dropped the third and fourth sets to keep the Lady Cougars alive. Grace (18-4, 10-6 Crossroads League) came away victorious after winning the fifth set 15-9, clinching third place in the Crossroads League standings.

Savannah Hart led the Lady Lancers’ attack, producing 18 kills with an efficient .567 percentage; she also contributed 8 block assists. Grace’s offense was consistent with 58 kills and a .220 percentage.

Alexa Hill flourished in setting the Lady Lancers up for their attack. She finished with 44 assists along with seven digs.

Grace had little trouble taking the first two sets.  The Lady Lancers dominated the opener, winning by a score of 25-12 with a .462 percentage. The second set of the match saw much of the same as Grace won 25-15.

Mount Vernon (18-15, 5-11 CL) stayed alive by winning the third set 25-20. In the fourth set, the Lady Cougars got off to a 5-0 start and rode that momentum to a 25-17 win while holding Grace to a .029 percentage.

The final set was a back-and-forth affair as both teams tried to gain an edge. The Lady Lancers showed killer instinct down the stretch, finishing the game on a 7-0 run to come away with a 15-9 victory. It was only fitting that Hart earned the last kill for Grace.

Sara Miller, the reigning NAIA Defender of the Week, led Grace’s defense with 27 digs. Caylie Teel contributed on both offense and defense with 10 kills and 16 digs. Gina Novotny earned a career high with 18 digs, and Sierra Smith added 12 kills and four block assists.

Grace will face league rival Bethel in its last regular season home game of the year. The match takes place Friday at 7 p.m.

This victory locks the Lady Lancers into third place in the Crossroads League standings. This means Grace will host a Crossroads League quarterfinal match on Nov. 4.

Women’s Golf

Sydney Abbott became the third Grace women’s golfer to compete at NCCAA Nationals this week.

Abbott competed as an individual, representing the Lady Lancers at Hammock Beach Resort. She was the top-finishing individual participant in the three-day, three-round tournament.

After the first national tournament round of her career, Abbott was in 13th place. She finished with two birdies on Monday, carding an 80. She sat just three strokes out of the top five on the leaderboard.

On Tuesday she fired an 83 and wrapped up her national tournament experience with another 83 on Wednesday, placing 15th out of 49 participants.

To see complete tournament results, click here.

The Lady Lancers will continue play in the spring in preparation for the 2018 Crossroads League Championships.

Women’s Soccer

A goal by Liz Van Wormer in the second half helped Grace salvage a 1-1 tie at Mt. Vernon Nazarene Wednesday night.

Van Wormer’s unassisted goal came in the 65th minute to tie the match at one-all. Morgan Gibson potted the Cougars lone goal in the 46th minute.

Both team combined to take 30 shots in the match through both overtime periods, Abby Schue only needing to make three saves among the 16 shots from Mt. Vernon.

Jenni Phillips led Grace with three shots and Sabina Meyers led the Lady Lancers with two shots on target.

Grace settles at 6-7-4 overall and 3-4-1 in Crossroads League play, its home match Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Goshen will close out the regular season.

Women’s Basketball

A late-game charge for Grace’s women’s basketball team came up short 58-53 against IU South Bend on Wednesday.

The Lady Lancers (0-2) trailed by as many as 11 in the second half but nearly pulled off a memorable comeback at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

Grace sputtered out of the gate in the first quarter. The Lady Lancers fell behind 17-5 late in the quarter after making only 3-of-10 from the floor. Grace ended the quarter on a 5-0 spurt to cut its deficit to 17-10.

The second quarter started better for Grace. Rachel Montgomery scored two quick baskets, and Grace sliced the Titans’ lead down to three.

IUSB rebuilt its cushion back up to 11 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers and went into halftime with a 31-23 lead. Montgomery converted a last-second layup to give Grace a boost into the break.

Kelsie Peterson led Grace with eight first-half points. The Titans (1-0) had a dominant 22-11 rebounding edge while shooting 43 percent from the field.

The Lady Lancers made a rally in the third quarter. Pesky fullcourt defense from Grace began to give the Titans issues.

Grace held IUSB scoreless for the final three minutes of the period, and a late 3-pointer from Lauren Godfrey cut the Titans’ margin to five.

The fourth quarter saw Grace nearly finish off a comeback in front of the home crowd. Pam Miller started the quarter with back-to-back scores, and Kyannah Stull buried a 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining to make the score 51-48.

After a basket by IUSB, Peterson answered with another triple as Grace trailed by two. Grace then forced a turnover, and Miller scored in the paint to tie the game 53-53.

Unfortunately for Grace, the Lady Lancers could not score another point for the remaining 50 seconds. IUSB capitalized from the foul line, hitting five free throws down the stretch. Grace had a costly turnover and missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the end.

Peterson led all players with 19 points, and Miller and Godfrey each scored eight. Stull scored seven points to go along with three assists, and Montgomery added four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes.

The Lady Lancers are on the road next weekend, playing in a two-game classic at Cardinal Stritch on Nov. 3-4.