Adelee Gartner and her Grace College teammates defeated Rochester 7-0 on Wednesday afternoon. File photo provided by Grace College.

Grace College Women 7, Rochester 0

Grace College’s women’s soccer team rolled by Rochester 7-0 on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Lancers (5-2) scored two goals in the first half and exploded for five markers in the second half to cruise to the dominant victory.

Madison Tuma was a handful, finishing with two goals and two assists, and Lea Moessinger added a goal and an assist. Libby Stratton got her first start of the season, needing only one save to record her first collegiate shutout as Grace’s goalkeeper.

Ten minutes into the game, Tuma put Grace on the scoreboard. Tuma buried her team-leading sixth goal of the season after being set up by Danae Moriarty. Eight minutes after the opening goal, the Lady Lancers struck again. Tuma found defender Erin Crew who joined the attack and netted her first goal of the season to give Grace a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Lancers controlled the entire first half and did not allow the Warriors to try a shot. Grace would turn to their substitutes late in the half as 19 players saw action before the intermission.

The Lady Lancers tried 12 shots in the first half with six of them being on target. Grace also earned three corners. Stratton was untested in the first half as Grace’s possession and defense blanked Rochester from the stat sheet.

Only 58 seconds elapsed in the second half before Grace again found the back of the net. Tuma scored her second of the game after receiving a pass from Lea Moessinger. One minute later, Tuma returned the favor. She dished out her fifth assist of the season to Moessinger who put Grace ahead 4-0.

The Lady Lancers consistently controlled the pace of play and continued to apply pressure on the Warriors. In the 62nd minute a Grace defender found paydirt for the second time in the game. Amber Meade scored off a pass from Lea Fricke, and seven minutes later Ashley Vandenboom would add an unassisted tally to push the Lady Lancers’ advantage to 6-0.

With 10 minutes left Alexis Larimore scored the Lady Lancers’ seventh goal, a season-high for goals in a game this year. With just minutes remaining Rochester would finally find an attacking play and put a shot on net that Stratton handled to secure the shutout.

Grace outshot Rochester 22-2 and held a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. Tuma shined offensively with two goals and two assists. Moriarty led all players with four shots. This is Grace’s fifth shutout of the season as Stratton saved the lone shot that was put on net.

“The level of play from our team was high and consistent. For the second time in five days, we played deep into rotations,” said head coach Michael Voss. “A few players returned today and shared the workload. We are still down a few players, and we’re hopeful they return quickly. The team is growing together and making the desired progress we’ve been aiming for.”

The Lady Lancers will return home to 1st Source Bank Field on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. as they prepare for a showdown with No. 13 Columbia.

Madonna Men 2, Grace College 0

Grace’s men’s soccer team was stifled offensively on Wednesday in a home defeat. The Lancers were blanked 2-0 to Madonna at 1st Source Bank Field.

The Lancers possessed the ball consistently across the first half but struggled to find the finishing pass in Madonna’s end of the field. The Crusaders rarely had an extended moment with the ball as Grace seemed to own possession, switching sides fluidly. But Madonna’s organized defense proved difficult for Grace to break down.

Grace’s most dangerous moments came off a header from a corner kick and another dangerous cross from Marco Poliani that nearly connected with Ethan Vigario in the penalty box. Felipe Gruber sparked a run into Madonna’s end of the field, eventually resulting in a shot from Vigario that was pushed wide by the goalkeeper.

The Lancers finished the half scoreless, entering halftime with a 0-0 scoreline. Grace had a 5-2 shot advantage, and the Lancers also amassed five corner kicks in the half.

Grace seemed to lose its assertiveness to begin the second half, and a lapse in judgment in the backfield put the Crusaders in front. Madonna crossed in front of Grace’s goal; the Lancers were unable to clear the pass, allowing for a clean shot which put Madonna ahead 1-0 with 33 minutes remaining.

While Grace still owned large swaths of possession during the second half, the Crusaders’ air-tight defending refused to allow clear chances for Grace. The Lancers had just two shots across the entirety of the second half.

With eight minutes remaining, Madonna dealt a deadly blow. A lack of focus by Grace’s defenders resulted in a foul in the penalty box. The Crusaders converted the ensuing penalty kick for a 2-0 lead. Grace could not muster a response and had to settle for the defeat. Madonna found revenge for last season’s 4-1 win by Grace during the spring.

The Lancers remain at home on Saturday for a marquee doubleheader at 1st Source Bank Field. Grace will host No. 4 Columbia on Saturday at noon while Grace’s women’s team will host No. 13 Columbia at 2:30 p.m.

Wawasee Boys 1, Columbia City 1

The Warriors took their show on the road to square off with Columbia City in a non-conference match. Wawasee spent 79:16 of the contest either tied or trailing 1-0. However, with 44 seconds remaining in the game, freshman Isaac Winters was fouled in the Eagle goal box which led to a penalty kick for the visitors. Mason Possell’s PK shot was true, tying the game at 1-1.

Columbia City’s goal was tallied after a Wawasee defender accidentally deflected the ball into his own net to put the Eagles ahead. Warrior keeper Sylvester Trujillo made five saves on the night, while his teammates were able to earn six corner kicks during the match.

“Impressive performance from our boys versus a very good Columbia City side,” said Wawasee coach Jordan Sharp. “Our boys showed composure on ball,  played as a team and had heart.

Wawasee’s varsity will take the weekend off before an NLC matchup with Goshen next Tuesday.

Ib the JV match, Columbia City blanked the Warriors 3-0.

Rochester Boys 6, Tippecanoe Valley 1

The boys Valley soccer team traveled to Rochester Wednesday and ran into a buzz saw. The Zebras scored 4 first half goals to build a comfortable 4-0 lead and coasted to a victory 6-1.

Valley was led Jon Ruiz, who scored on a penalty kick with about 21 minutes left in the game. Overall, the Vikings played well in the second half but couldn’t overcome the deep hole they found themselves in at intermission.

The team travels to Peru Thursday evening to take on the Tigers in another TRC contest.

Homestead Boys 2, Warsaw 1

In a tough non-conference road test, Warsaw fell to the host Spartans 2-1.

Statistics and information from the match were not provided.