Grace Sports Results: Oct. 23
MEN’S GOLF FINISHES FOURTH AT NCCAAs
Grace’s men’s golf team wrapped up a successful week with a fourth-place showing at the 2019 NCCAA National Championships.
Noah Wright earned All-American honors for the Lancers, tying for fifth overall on the individual leaderboard.
Wright fired an opening-round 73, and he followed that up with a 77-74 over the final two days to grab an All-American position.
Camden Gongwer was a model of consistency. He placed 14th overall with a steady scorecard of 76-76-77.
Blake Lawson recovered from an opening-round 83; the freshman ended the tournament with two rounds of 75.
Payton Kelly was next with a scoreline of 75-81-85, and Jacob Abrahamson rounded out the team’s scoring with a 77-77-91.
As a team, Grace ended the three-day, three-round event with a score of 917, five strokes better than fifth-place Cedarville. Erskine College won the tournament with a score of 875.
The Lancers are not done this fall, traveling to the Saints Classic on Monday and Tuesday at Warren Golf Course.
MEN’S SOCCER 4, MARIAN 0
Grace’s men’s soccer team continued its late-season momentum with a 4-0 win over Marian on Wednesday.
The Lancers (9-5-3, 3-4-2 Crossroads League) moved up to sixth place in the Crossroads League standings with their second straight win. As a result, Grace will travel to Bethel in the quarterfinals of the CL Tournament on Nov. 2.
Marcelo Talamas wrapped up his sterling regular season with a goal and two assists on Wednesday night.
Chances were limited in the first half as the game began to open up more after halftime. The first threatening chance of the match came from Henrique Cerruti.
After a strong build up by the Lancers, Cerruti tried a shot from the top of the penalty box, but his attempt went high of the crossbar.
Ulisses Miranda and Talamas were a dangerous duo in attack, combining for three near-misses in the half. Miranda and Talamas both had shots that needed sharp saves.
Another chance from Talamas beat the goalkeeper, but the ball was saved off the goal line by the final defender for the Knights (6-10-1, 1-7-1 CL).
Grace broke onto the scoreboard in the 29th minute. On a free kick, Ze Maria Goncalves crossed to the center of the penalty area. Ivan Santagiuliana timed his run well, redirecting the ball past the goalkeeper at the 28:40 mark.
Marian was largely quiet until the final four minutes. The Knights advanced deep into Grace’s end of the field and put numbers in the box. A first shot was pawed away by Grace goalkeeper Colton Wottring. A second shot was cleared away by the Lancers’ backline to preserve the 1-0 lead.
Grace outshot Marian 6-4 in the opening half, and the Lancers’ edge would grow dramatically after halftime.
The Lancers had the clear upper hand in the second half. Grace held a 15-5 shot edge and put three goals past the Knights.
In the 58th minute, Grace’s lead doubled. Talamas sent a leading pass to Miranda, who eventually cut along the endline and passed back. Talamas tried a hard shot that was parried back into the box, and Cedric Brenneman slotted the rebound into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.
In the 80th minute, Talamas assisted again. He juked a Knight in the midfield and quickly advanced the ball. He found Cody Boerema inside the box, and Boerema blasted a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
The fourth and final goal was from Talamas. Cerruti led Talamas with a direct pass, and Talamas muscled off a defender and poked his shot around the goalkeeper for the 4-0 final margin of victory.
A pair of substitutes (Chedy Valdez, Tyler Brueckman) nearly scored over the final 10 minutes for the Lancers, but each was denied.
For the match, Grace owned a 21-9 advantage in shots. Grace also took four of the six corner kicks.
Wottring made three saves to record the shutout, and he was protected well by Gabriel Dos Santos, Philipp Arnold, Kyle Smith and Santagiuliana, among others.
MARIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER 2, GRACE 0
Grace’s women’s soccer team was shut out for the second time this season in a 2-0 loss to No. 21 Marian on Wednesday.
The game essentially determined the No. 2 and No. 3 finishers in the Crossroads League standings. The Lady Lancers (14-3-1, 6-2-1 CL) will host a quarterfinal match in next week’s CL Tournament on Nov. 2.
Bethany Blackwood got the start in net for the Lady Lancers (14-3-1, 6-2-1) and made seven saves on nine shots. Taylor Fort and Cassidy Wasson each registered a shot.
Marian (14-2-2, 6-2-1 CL) quickly put Grace on its heels, registering a shot on goal that required Blackwood to make a save 20 seconds into the game.
Near the 25th minute of the match Grace again had to withstand an attack from Marian. The Knights put two shots on goal and were awarded two corner kicks over a three-minute span.
In the 31st minute, the Knights finally broke through. Capitalizing on a rebound off a Blackwood save, Marian was able to put a shot into the back of the net to make the score 1-0.
The Lady Lancers handled the offensive plan of Marian better at the start of the second half, allowing a single shot on goal over the first 20 minutes.
The game became a midfield battle in second half, as Marion looked to clear every Lady Lancer possession.
In the 83rd minute Marian jumped on a misplayed ball and beat Blackwood to make the score 2-0.
The Lady Lancers made one final push on offense. But a corner kick from JJ Aalbue was cleared from danger by the Knights’ defense, closing the game at 2-0.
Grace was awarded four corners on the night, and had six fouls called on them compared to 12 for Marian.
INDIANA WESLEYAN VOLLEYBALL 3, GRACE 0
The Grace College volleyball team fell to No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday in straight sets.
The Wildcats (26-1, 13-1 Crossroads League) came in hot, carrying a five-game winning streak into the match; all victories came in straight sets.
Defensively, the Lady Lancers (15-15, 9-6 CL) hustled to slow down the IWU attack. Gina Novotny recorded 21 digs, and Grace Erwin chipped in 13 digs.
Embracing the challenge, Grace came out strong. Jadyn Block stuffed the Wildcat attack at the net and pounded a kill to set the tone for a resilient first set.
The teams traded blows until IWU took a five-point lead. But Grace battled back. Autumn Deshetsky served up an ace to produce momentum for the Lady Lancers.
Deborah Michalski kept the momentum going with a huge block at the net; the Lady Lancers went on to tie the game at 12. However, the Wildcats responded with four unanswered points.
The Lady Lancers tried to rally; Gina Novotny produced an ace, and Makaela Lochmueller and Block continued to be dynamic at the net. But the Wildcats never gave up their four-point cushion, taking the first set 25-21.
In the second set, IWU’s attack was too much. The Wildcats’ flurry of offense opened up a double-digit lead that only increased as they won the set 25-10.
Although the Lady Lancers began the third set with intensity, the pattern continued; the Wildcats went on a run, establishing an insurmountable lead. IWU ended the match with a 25-15 win.
Block, Lochmueller and Caroline Mayer each tallied five kills to lead the Lady Lancer offense. Grace was held to a .050 percentage offensively.
Alexa Hill notched 21 assists and seven digs.
The Lady Lancers travel to Taylor next Wednesday, taking on the Trojans at 7 p.m.