Grace Ladies Topple Taylor
WINONA LAKE – The Grace College women’s soccer team improved to 2-0 in the Crossroads League with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Taylor on Tuesday.
The Lady Lancers (5-5; 2-0 CL) shared the wealth on offense, allowing four players to score.
Tuesday’s match with Taylor was controlled by Grace in terms of both possession and shot attempts (13-5). The Lady Lancers nearly scored in the first minutes of the game, but a close-range shot from Meredith Hollar whisked just outside the post.
Meghan Wiles brought the Miller Field crowd to its feet in the sixth minute with the game’s first goal. She unleashed a left-footed strike from the edge of the penalty box that beat Taylor’s goalkeeper at the 5:40 mark.
The Lady Lancers continued to press in the opening period as Meredith Hollar notched her fifth goal of the season in the 23rd minute. Mallory Rondeau dribbled from the middle of the field and passed to Hollar on a run at goal, and Hollar slotted her shot to the back of the net.
A similar play produced Grace’s third goal when Rondeau found Emily Hickerson on a run, and the senior forward gave Grace a 3-0 lead in the 70th minute of action.
Rondeau added a goal to her two assists when she finished a strong strike from the right side of the box with two minutes remaining. Carianne Sobey earned the assist.
The Trojans (7-3; 0-2 CL) only goal of the game came on a strange play with five seconds remaining in regulation. An indirect kick was awarded to Taylor in the penalty box, and the official stopped the clock with five seconds to play. The Trojans’ first shot was saved by Carmen Barnhill, but they scored on their second try with two seconds left to take away Barnhill’s clean sheet.
“Today was a dominant performance from the women. They were very sharp, created numerous scoring opportunities and clicked well the entire match,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “The goal conceded is completely external from the women and takes nothing away from 90 minutes of good futbol. We are starting to find some rhythm as a group, and that’s exciting.”
The Lady Lancers will hope to continue their undefeated record in league play on Saturday when they host Huntington at 1 p.m.