Frosh Pace Grace To Victory
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s women’s soccer team outshot Marian 30-5 in a dominant performance on Saturday. Three freshmen scored to pace Grace’s efforts in Crossroads League competition.
Darcy Johnston, Carianne Sobey and Faith Voehringer notched goals for the Lady Lancers (12-3-2; 5-2-1 CL), and Sobey notched her 12th assist of the season as well.
“The women played technically today and were clean across the board,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “I was happy to see good production from several players. Marian is a hard-working bunch, and today was a good result.”
Grace maintained possession for 75 percent of the first half, resulting in a 17-3 shot advantage, but they were unable to score.
Both Kristin Yocum and Kaitlan Wiles had near-misses with shots that clanged off the post in the first half. Wiles nearly scored on another play when she managed to sidestep the oncoming goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation but was unable to stop her dribble from crossing the endline.
Grace netted two goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half, however, to put the game beyond the reach of the Knights (6-9-1; 1-7 CL).
In the 52nd minute, Sobey sent a corner kick to Holly Bennett, who headed a ball toward Johnston. Johnston trapped the ball to the left of goal, found a lane and slotted home the game’s first goal.
Sobey was credited with the first part of the double assist with Bennett. Sobey continued to rewrite Grace’s record books as she holds the single-season mark for assists.
The Lady Lancers had a goal taken off the scoreboard when a pass from Wiles set up an easy tap-in from Mallory Rondeau, but Rondeau was ruled offside by the slimmest of margins.
Grace responded minutes later with a goal at the 55:26 mark. Wiles fed Sobey for a close finish on the left side of the goal.
Grace added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute. After a long, patient attack, Jocelyn Evans turned her defender near the right endline and found Voehringer open in front of the net for a simple finish.
Grace’s defense notched their eighth shutout of the season as senior goalkeeper Abigail Burns recorded three saves in 90 minutes.
The Lady Lancers recorded 17 shots in the first half, 13 shots after halftime and 13 shots on goal overall. Wiles led all players with six shots and three shots on goal, and Rondeau added five shots and three shots on goal. Twenty-two players saw playing time for Grace.
The Lady Lancers conclude their regular season with a home match with Goshen on Tuesday at 4 p.m. With a win, Grace can finish as high as second place in the league for the CL Tournament starting Oct. 27.