Bethany Blackwood and the Grace defense shut out Huntington, 2-0, to advance in the Crossroads League women’s soccer tournament Wednesday afternoon. (Photos by Mike Deak)

WINONA LAKE – Grace began its quest for matching hardware Wednesday afternoon.

After winning a share of its first Crossroads League women’s soccer title, split with Spring Arbor, the Lady Lancers set out as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and knocked out Huntington, 2-0, at First Source Bank Field.

Within 10 minutes of action on Wednesday, Grace (17-2) had two goal-scoring opportunities. Cassidy Wasson had the first chance, but her shot from an angle whistled wide.

Sacia Hanson advances upfield against Huntington.

Minutes later Allison Vroon weaved her way to the top of the penalty box. Her right-footed shot forced a diving save at the goalpost.

Grace continued to assault the Foresters’ goal, including a few long-range efforts from Joana Schimmel and another handful of chances in the box from Jenni Phillips and Shelby Fort.

The Lady Lancers’ pressure eventually broke down Huntington’s defense. Vroon beat a defender on the endline, then lofted a ball in the box that was pawed in the air by Huntington’s goalkeeper, and Phillips pounced on the loose ball for the opening goal in the 29th minute.

Liz Van Wormer doubled Grace’s lead in the final minute of the half. She turned on her defender ripped a 25-yard blast just below the crossbar, a shot that didn’t seem to have much speed, but just kept carrying to the far corner.

“Liz’s goal was good. My goodness, if she would turn and shoot like that more often she would have 10 more goals that what she has,” Voss said. “I liked that she turned and fired. It was nice to get up 2-0 and get some different players moved around and tried some combinations that we haven’t tried yet knowing we had a two-goal lead.”

Grace went into halftime with a 2-0 lead; the Lady Lancers also held a dominant 13-2 advantage in shots and 2-0 edge in corner kicks.

The Lady Lancers continued to hold the better of possession and chances in the second half. Flavia Faria nearly scored midway into the half, but her headed effort glanced off the crossbar.

Cassidy Wasson rips a shot.

Grace had 13 shots after halftime, but the team was unable to add to its cushion. Wasson, Clair Snodgrass, Anna Kuhl and Sacia Hanson all had chances that were saved.

Bethany Blackwood, the reigning league Defensive Player of the Week, made two saves for her 15th shutout of the season. She was protected well by McKenna Cruz, Aubrey Feipel, Kuhl ad Liz Aalbue.

“This is just a team effort right now,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “The goal right now is just to not let teams get close enough to rattle off shots. I don’t think we were as sharp as we could have been, but we’re holding ourselves to our own standards and we have to be satisfied with a shutout in a conference tournament.”

Schimmel had five shots, equaling the total amount of shots taken by Huntington. Overall, Grace owned a 26-5 shot edge while firing 13 shots per half.

Saturday’s semifinal showdown will be a rematch of the regular season finale, when Grace upset Marian in overtime on a memorable goal from Vroon. The match is set for 4 p.m., opposite the other semi-final, which will have Spring Arbor hosting Taylor.

“We love this pitch, playing on grass and we have great fans,” Voss said of Saturday’s rematch with Marian, which Grace will once again host. “We earned the right to get at least two home games with our regular season and we’re happy about it. No complaints about us having more home soccer matches. We’d rather not play on the road.”

Corinne Villalobos puts head on ball against Huntington Wednesday afternoon.