Lancers Rally For Soccer Draw
WINONA LAKE – The Grace College women’s soccer team and Mount Vernon Nazarene played a memorable match for those in attendance at Miller Field on Wednesday night.
The Lady Lancers scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation to tie the score as the teams ended in a 2-2 draw in a match that was subjected to a major storm.
Grace was on the verge of a home defeat to the Cougars (6-7-3; 2-3-2 Crossroads League) despite holding a shot advantage for most of the match. The Lady Lancers (11-3-2; 4-2-1 CL) outshot Mount Vernon 21-11 in the match yet still trailed 2-0 until the 82nd minute.
Mount Vernon scored first in the fifth minute of the game on a deep lofted shot that beat Abigail Burns in goal.
Grace’s offense gained a spark off the bench as substitutes Kristin Yocum and Faith Voehringer gave the Lady Lancers a boost. Grace was unable to score, however, while Mount Vernon managed to score again off a corner kick at the 68:44 mark.
Grace outshot Mount Vernon 11-5 in the second half and scored their first goal of the match at the 81:37 mark.
Mallory Rondeau found Kristin Yocum on the left side of the penalty box, and Yocum’s shot beat the goalkeeper.
At that point in the match, the light drizzle of the afternoon turned into a downpour with strong winds affecting play. After a short corner two minutes later, freshman Carianne Sobey provided the timely equalizer Grace needed. Sobey sliced her shot into goal from the right side of the penalty box to level the score with six minutes to play.
Mount Vernon saved a game-winning strike from Rondeau when she latched onto a through ball to find herself in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. Rondeau sidestepped the Cougars’ goalkeeper, but her shot on goal was saved off the goal line by a Cougar defender.
In the overtime periods, Grace was the aggressor as they took seven shots compared to two for the Cougars. Rondeau was the focal point of Grace’s attack in the rain-drenched overtime periods but to no avail.
Mount Vernon’s physical play resulted in 21 fouls called against the team compared to nine for Grace.
Rondeau led all players with six shots. Sobey tallied five shots and three shots on goal, and Yocum added five shots off the bench.
The Lady Lancers have their “Senior Day” on Saturday with a home match against Marian at 1 p.m.