Grace Soccer: Van Wormer, Lancers Roll In Regional
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s women’s soccer team opened up the NCCAA Midwest Regionals with a 5-0 win over Oakland City on Tuesday.
Freshman Liz Van Wormer scored the game’s first two goals to propel the Lady Lancers (6-7-4) to victory.
Grace advances to the semifinals against Houghton. The Lady Lancers will host Houghton on Friday at 4 p.m. at 1st Source Bank Field. The championship will be held on Saturday at either Indiana Wesleyan or Grace (highest remaining seed).
Grace dominated from the opening kickoff on Tuesday, including a 16-0 advantage in shots before halftime.
It took the Lady Lancers 22 minutes to get on the scoreboard but not without several near misses. McKenna Cruz hit the crossbar twice on identical plays. She hit two deep, looping shots that fooled the goalkeeper each time but did not trick the crossbar.
Grace’s first goal came off a Warsaw Tiger connection. Senior Meredith Hollar crossed a pass to the right side of the box to an unmarked Van Wormer, and the freshman finished her shot to the far post. Both Hollar and Van Wormer graduated high school at Warsaw.
Van Wormer added her second goal 11 minutes later. Corinne Villalobos split Oakland City’s defense with a leading pass from midfield. Van Wormer took care of the rest, beating the goalkeeper in a 1v1 situation.
The Lady Lancers took a 3-0 lead into halftime thanks to a memorable kick from Kristen Bellinger. After Grace earned a free kick, Bellinger calmly laced the 23-yard kick into the back of the net in impressive fashion.
Grace’s offense continued to attack early in the second half. A well-constructed attack resulted in an open Joana Schimmel at the top of the box. Schimmel’s first shot was deflected, but she converted her second effort by slotting it around the goalkeeper.
Minutes later, Kaitlyn Hayes made the score 5-0. The senior jigged around the defense and buried a deep, curling effort.
The vast majority of the final 30 minutes of the game remained in Grace’s attacking half of the field. The Lady Lancers held the Lady Oaks (9-8) to just one shot attempt in the game, which was saved by Abby Schue.
Marina Tolczyk was active at the top of Grace’s attack, firing off five shots and two on goal, and Sabina Meyers took three shots off the bench.
Overall, Grace held a dominant 31-1 shot advantage. The Lady Lancers had 14 shots on goal, and Grace also had a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Hollar led all players with six shots and four on goal. Van Wormer had three shots, and Cruz, Bellinger, and Flavia Faria each tried two shots.
With a win in Friday’s semifinals against Houghton, Grace would play for the region championship on Saturday. The game will be at Indiana Wesleyan, unless the Wildcats lose, in which case Grace could host Saturday’s final.
The winner of the Midwest Regional receives an automatic berth into the 2016 NCCAA National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla.