Taylor Fort (center) and Grace College celebrate its first goal of a 2-0 win over Taylor University Saturday afternoon. (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

GRACE WOMEN 2, TAYLOR 0

Grace’s women’s soccer team enjoyed its eight consecutive win courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Taylor on Saturday.

The No. 20 Lady Lancers (12-1, 4-0 Crossroads League) gave the packed crowd at 1st Source Bank Field plenty to cheer during Grace’s Homecoming weekend.

Grace remains on top of the league standings as the only undefeated team in the Crossroads League.

The match started with a midfield battle. Both teams ventured cautiously for the first 15 minutes; no shot was even attempted until Taylor’s attempt went wide in the 17th minute.

From that point on, Grace took control. The Lady Lancers advanced patiently and consistently into Taylor’s end.

Grace had shots from Cassidy Wasson and Alexis Larimore in the penalty box that were blocked. A clear shot from Corinne Villalobos whisked just beyond the goal.

The breakthrough for Grace came in the 32nd minute. Wasson crossed from the right side of the field. Taylor Fort rose up and headed in her goal to bring the packed Homecoming crowd to its feet.

The Lady Lancers had another golden opportunity in the half when JJ Aalbue was fouled just outside the box in the waning seconds. But Aalbue’s 19-yard shot was blocked by the wall.

Grace outshot Taylor (9-2-1, 2-1-1 CL) by a count of 7-5 in the first half, and the Lady Lancers’ momentum carried over into the second half.

After halftime, the Lady Lancers put on a clinic in its possession attack. Grace held the ball for large swaths of time. Overall, Grace outshot the Trojans 11-4 after halftime.

For the first 20 minutes of action after halftime, the Lady Lancers took seven shots with four corner kicks. Taylor, in the meantime, could not shot register a shot.

Aalbue and Larimore both fired off hard shots that were saved as the Trojans continued to absorb pressure.

In the 68th minute, Baylei Peters had a breakaway that was saved, and Villalobos also had a shot that went above the crossbar.

The Lady Lancers found an insurance goal in the 71st minute. Wasson passed to Aalbue on a dangerous run into the penalty box. Aalbue crossed a ball low in front of Taylor’s goal, and Liz Van Wormer redirected it past the goalkeeper for the final 2-0 scoreline.

Taylor did its best to rally; the Trojans took three of their four second-half shots over the final nine minutes of regulation. But only one shot was truly threatening, forcing a diving save from Grace’s goalkeeper Bethany Blackwood.

Blackwood made four saves in the shutout victory, and she was protected well by Anna Kuhl, Hannah Tkacz, Lea Moessinger and Sacia Hanson, among others.

For the match, Grace outshot Taylor 18-9. Aalbue’s five shots led all players, and Larimore fired off three shots.

TAYLOR MEN 2, GRACE 1 (OT)

For fourth time this season, Grace’s men’s soccer team came up empty in overtime. The Lancers fell to Taylor on Saturday 2-1 in double overtime.

Taylor (6-5-2, 2-2 Crossroads League) put pressure on the Lancers (7-3-2, 1-2-1 CL) early with two quick shots that forced Grace goalkeeper Gonzalo Salo to be sharp.

In the 22nd minute, the Trojans came close to breaking through the Lancers’ defense off a corner kick, but the Grace defenders forced a tough shot that went just wide of the net.

Grace put together a dangerous attack in the 35th minute and threatened to take the lead. Marcelo Talamas took a pass from Ulisses Miranda and put a shot on goal that was saved by the sprawling Trojan keeper. Cody Boerema jumped on the rebound, but his shot hit the crossbar and went out of play.

The tie was finally broken in the 42nd minute when the Trojans capitalized on a Lancers’ defensive miscue and buried the ball for the first goal of the afternoon.

The Lancers went into the half down 1-0 on the scoreboard. Grace outshot Taylor 7-6, and Miranda led the team with three shot attempts.

Grace again was dangerous at the start of the second half as Boerema forced a diving save off a shot from the top of the box in the 50th minute.

The Lancers were able to keep the pressure on and were awarded a penalty kick in the 54th minute after jumping on a loose ball and getting tackled in the box.

Grace called on Boerema, who had been in great form all day, to take the penalty kick. Boerema put a shot on the left side of the goal that completely fooled the Trojan keeper and drew the game at 1-1.

Despite the goal, the Lancers’ offense did not relent. In the 61st minute a crossing pass to Talamas forced another outstanding save.

The rest of the regulation was quiet until the Trojans put together a quick attack as time was expiring. Salo made one last save to force overtime.

Although they could not find a goal, the first overtime was all Taylor as the Lancers did not attempt a shot. The Trojans were awarded four corner kicks, and they had a shot that took a diving effort from Salo to keep the ball out of the Lancers’ goal.

Taylor scored the deciding goal early in the second overtime. A long-range shot from well outside the penalty area found the top corner of the net, ending the game 2-1 in favor of the Trojans.

Salo had five saves, and Boerema led the team with four shots.

LAKELAND CHRISTIAN BOYS 4, ROCHESTER 1

Parker Stewart added three more goals to his impressive totals, two via penalty kick, as the Cougars picked up a road win at Rochester. The match, postponed from last Saturday’s weather issues, saw Michael Easterling also score on a Stewart assist. Oak Janjaroen added an assist on Stewart’s goal in the run of play. Wade Shafer had the lone Zebra goal on a penalty kick.

Stewart has nine hat tricks this season, and is sitting on 33 goals and eight assists for the year, which has him in the top five in the state in scoring heading into the state tournament.

“We showed a lot of character today winning away from home after such an emotional win last night.” said LCA head coach Dan Miller. “Parker Stewart had yet another hat trick, and Michael Easterling scored a fantastic volley off a cross. We were a bit unlucky to give up a penalty kick for Rochester’s lone goal. We are playing our best soccer of the year heading into the sectional, and I’m excited to see how next week plays out.”

LCA finishes the regular season 11-5 and will take on host Fort Wayne Blackhawk Wednesday at the Blackhawk Sectional.