Grace Ladies Lose In Soccer Semis
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – California Baptist ended Grace’s women’s soccer championship aspirations with a 4-0 victory over the Lady Lancers in the NCCAA National Semifinals on Thursday.
Grace will conclude their season in the third-place game on Saturday against Trevecca Nazarene.
“We played a very good CBU team today. They brought a tough brand of soccer,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “The Grace women really turned up the possession from yesterday with long sessions of productive possession.”
The Lady Lancers (16-5-3) started the match strong, possessing through the midfield comfortably in the opening stages.
But California Baptist broke onto the scoreboard first with a goal less than seven minutes before halftime.
CBU (17-2-1) increased their offensive presence after halftime, tallying 14 shots in the second half. They added a second goal on a cross into the penalty box in the 67th minute.
Grace nearly cut CBU’s lead in half when a free kick from Grace allowed Carianne Sobey to redirect a shot that forced a diving save from California Baptist.
But an immediate response from California Baptist resulted in the third goal of the game on a counterattack.
The Lady Lancers had another goal-scoring opportunity when Mallory Rondeau was fouled after she broke free near the top of the penalty box to earn a free kick, but CBU’s defense held firm on the kick.
California Baptist repeated their previous effort with another counterattack goal after Grace’s free kick for the final tally of the game.
“I was pleased with the discipline and composure in the women today. Unfortunately we were chasing the match in the second half, so we decided to play for the win. It could have turned the tide pushing on like we did,” Voss continued. “Overall, we played well today, and I was proud of our women and their implementation of our style of play.”
Grace, who already has the program record for most wins in a season, will hope to add one more victory to their total on Saturday in the third-place game with Trevecca Nazarene at 12:15 p.m.