Grace Sports Results: Nov. 3
GRACE WOMEN’S SOCCER 1, MARIAN 0
For the second time in three games, Grace’s women’s soccer team upset No. 15 Marian on Saturday.
In the first matchup 10 days prior, Grace won in overtime to secure its first Crossroads League championship in program history.
This time, No. 16 Grace won in regulation. The Lady Lancers (18-2) used a wondergoal from Anna Kuhl to down Marian in the semifinals of the CL Tournament.
Grace advances to play for the CL Tournament crown on Nov. 10 at No. 3 Spring Arbor. The winner of the CL Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
The first half was evenly played; Grace had the majority share of possession, but each team shot 10 times.
The Knights (11-5-3) had an early push on offense, taking half of their first-half shots in the opening six minutes.
Sacia Hanson and Jenni Phillips each had a shot on goal saved in the first 12 minutes.
In the 20th minute, Cassidy Wasson tried a shot attempt that clipped off the goalpost, nearly putting the Lady Lancers ahead.
Kuhl’s winning moment came midway into the first half. Grace was fouled seven yards beyond the penalty box. Kuhl stepped up and buried her free kick just below the crossbar at the 26:31 mark for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
“I was definitely going for upper 90 on the kick, just didn’t know it would go in like that,” Kuhl said. “I went for the goal. Yeah, you gotta go for the goal with the ball in that area. Honestly, I had thought about sliding it in for a teammate, but the angle was there so, when you’re that close, go for it.”
Overall, Grace outshot Marian 6-1 over the final 25 minutes of the first half; the Lady Lancers went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Seven of Grace’s 10 shots before halftime were on goal compared to three shots on goal for the Knights.
The Knights did their best to find an equalizer, firing off 13 shots over the final 45 minutes. But only four of those attempts were on goal.
“I think it’s just resolve on our part,” said Grace College head coach Michael Voss. “We know what they are going to do based off the last game, and they know what we’re trying to do and what our weakness are. We had to work on doing the little things well. Keeping composure. Working in tight spaces. You had to know it was going to get hot late, you lose, you’re out. Both teams are going to empty the tanks going for it, especially Marian being down a goal. For us, that’s what we train all year to deal with.”
Grace’s defensive front of McKenna Cruz, Kuhl, Aubrey Feipel and Liz Aalbue were strong to protect the Lady Lancers’ net.
Bethany Blackwood registered her program-record 16th shutout of the season, making seven saves to pick up the clean sheet. Her 16 shutouts currently lead the NAIA.
Joana Schimmel had five shots and three shots on goal to lead Grace, and Hanson and Kuhl each shot three times.
The Lady Lancers will be hoping for their first conference tournament championship with an upset of Spring Arbor. Grace is also aiming for a second-ever appearance at NAIA Nationals with either an automatic bid or as an at-large invitee.
“Dude, so proud of them,” Voss said. “We’ve been playing this season one game at a time and not worrying about the next one. I’m super proud of them. They have put in a lot of time and effort. Our senior group coming in as freshmen and sophomores playing behind all those All-Americans we had, they stayed patient and stayed the course. They put in the effort. It’s not a big secret how they have gotten to where they are at. They are genuinely good kids who are working very hard. To know good kids are in this position, I love it.”
GRACE VOLLEYBALL 3, TAYLOR 0
Grace’s volleyball team beat Taylor for the third time this season, trouncing the Trojans 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League Tournament.
The Lady Lancers, playing without their All-American setter Alexa Hill, were sparked by a strong performance by Gabbey Harrington and Lexy Oppenhuis.
Harrington, who filled in for Hill as Grace’s setter, nearly produced a triple-double while leading Grace’s attack. She finished with 37 assists, 8 kills and 9 digs. Her .571 hitting percentage led all players.
Oppenhuis added seven kills on 15 attempts, many of which lifted Grace in key moments.
The score was knotted 13-13 in the first set when Grace scored four straight, aided by an ace from Gina Novotny.
Taylor fought back and only trailed 23-21, but senior Marta Bleed ended the set with back-to-back kills in a 25-21 win.
The Trojans (17-17) seemed poised to even the match in the second set. Taylor scored seven unanswered points to claim a comfortable 13-5 lead.
The Lady Lancers (20-15) countered with a 12-4 run of their own to even the score at 17-17. Oppenhuis had three kills during Grace’s charge, and Harrington had back-to-back kills.
Taylor maintained a slight lead and pulled ahead 23-21, but Grace still had plenty of fight left.
The Lady Lancers stunned the Trojans with four straight points to take the set. Kelsee Zuidema and Makaela Lochmueller produced kills to give Grace the lead, and Oppenhuis ended the scoring at 25-23 with a kill.
The third and final set was tightly contested as well. Taylor led 19-17 late, but Grace went on a 6-1 run to steal momentum. Harrington had two more kills during that game-changing spurt.
Caylie Teel ended the match with a kill on the final swing of the evening, giving Grace a 25-23 win.
Teel led Grace with nine kills and added 15 digs, and Zuidema produced 8 kills, 10 digs and 2 aces.
Overall, no player for Grace had double-digit kills; but six Lady Lancers recorded six or more kills in the three-set win.
The Lady Lancers had 48 kills on a .236 percentage compared to 44 kills on a .203 rate for the Trojans.
Lochmueller had seven kills at a .467 clip to go along with two block assists, Novotny led all players with 23 digs, and Bleed had six kills.
The Lady Lancers advance to the semifinals of the CL Tournament, playing at top-seeded Marian on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
GRACE MEN’S BASKETBALL 97, CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN 93 (OT)
Grace’s men’s basketball hit a several clutch shots late to beat Cincinnati Christian 97-93 in overtime on Saturday.
Grace won its season-opening Lancer Tipoff Classic by virtue of Saturday’s victory in a matchup of teacher versus student. CCU’s head coach Greg Miller was a former Lancer All-American, playing under Grace’s NAIA Hall of Fame head coach Jim Kessler
The Eagles (2-1) started the game sharply on offense. CCU scored on its first three possessions and quickly earned an 11-4 edge.
The Lancers (2-0) slowly battled back, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Logan Godfrey — the first triples of the senior’s career.
Grace eventually erased the Eagles’ lead and took the lead on the last play of the half. David Holden found Godfrey for a bucket in the paint, putting Grace ahead 43-42 at halftime.
Godfrey was an offensive force in the half, pouring in 22 points to go along with eight boards.
Grace’s momentum to end the first half carried into the second half. Charlie Warner scored five quick points, and Haden Deaton added four more to increase the Lancers’ lead to seven.
The Eagles only needed a few minutes to erase Grace’s lead, tying the score at 60 and taking a 63-62 lead with 9:40 remaining.
Grace responded immediately, ripping off a 13-0 run to pull ahead. Warner, Deaton and Jaret Sons each hit a 3-pointer during Grace’s charge to put the Lancers on top 75-63 with 7:15 remaining.
The Eagles refused to panic, however, and coolly battled back into the game. CCU’s Blake Walsman, who finished with a game-high 34 points, tied the game when he converted an and-1 in the final minute of regulation.
Each team had chances to win the game, but neither squad could find a game winner in the waning seconds.
In the overtime period, Grace made multiple key shots to hold off the Eagles.
Sons hit a pair of triples in a two-minute span, each time to put Grace on top. His last triple with 1:55 gave the Lancers a 93-90 edge.
CCU countered with a 3-pointer on the next possession to tie the score, but Deaton answered with a trey of his own to make the score 96-93 with 31 seconds to play.
CCU was unable to score on its next possession, and Godfrey iced the win with a free throw.
Godfrey enjoyed a dominant game, pouring in 32 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Deaton ripped off 22 points, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Warner added 21 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Sons had a well-rounded night with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists, and Braxton Linville added seven assists and five boards.
Grace held a plus-12 advantage in rebounding (44 to 32) and had 13 more assists (23 to 10) than the Eagles.
The Lancers hit the road for their first away match on Tuesday, playing at Holy Cross at 7 p.m.
GOVERNORS STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 65, GRACE 61
A strong first half of action unraveled for Grace’s women’s basketball team on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers led by 11 points at halftime, but Governors State rallied to steal a 65-61 victory in Grace’s home opener.
Grace struggled to keep up with the size of the Jaguars, losing the rebounding battle by 14 (42 to 28).
In the first half, Grace’s defense muted Governors State to just 21 points. The Jaguars shot 27 percent from the floor before halftime.
Kamryn Hostetler gave Grace a spark in the first quarter. The freshman scored seven points in a few minutes to put the Lady Lancers ahead.
In the second quarter, Grace used a 12-2 spurt to jump on top by 13. Brooke Sugg scored five points during that spree, and Vironnica Drake added four more.
The Lady Lancers led 32-21 at halftime after shooting 46 percent from the floor.
Grace’s lead evaporated in the third quarter. Governors State erupted for 23 points in the third stanza — more than their total output from the first half.
The Jaguars opened the second half by scoring 11 straight points to tie the contest.
Hostetler and Sugg helped Grace recover, combining for nine points in a two-minute span. But Grace’s five-point cushion did not last long.
The Jaguars ran away with the game at that point, going on a 21-4 run which bridged the third and fourth quarters. Grace could only manage four points over the span of 8:31 of game time.
The Lady Lancers did their best to rally furiously over the final two minutes. Hostetler and Sugg scored five points apiece down the stretch, but it was too late to complete a comeback.
Sugg scored 21 points, and Hostetler added 16 points. Drake added 10 points, 6 boards and 2 steals, and Kaylie Warble tacked on six points and five rebounds.
The Lady Lancers remain at home on Tuesday, welcoming No. 9 Indiana Tech to the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center for a 7 p.m. matchup.
GRACE XC AT CROSSROADS LEAGUE TOURNEY
Grace’s cross country team took on the 2018 Crossroads League Championship on Saturday, hosted by Taylor.
The men’s team placed sixth on the day, and the women finished 10th.
Ben Rankin shined despite sloppy conditions at the conference meet. Rankin paced the men’s team, bringing home a top-10 finish to earn All-League recognition. His time of 26:53 at the line was ninth fastest, garnering him qualification to the NAIA National Championship meet later this month.
The next two Lancers to cross the line were Alex Brummett and Elijah Brooks with official times of 27:46 and 27:53 respectively.
Brendan Hamilton (29:09) and John Marhefka (29:17) rounded out the top-five for Grace.
“Our guys got into the race early, and it paid off as we placed higher than a few teams who we have chased all season,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond.
Carmen Trier led the women’s team, finishing 67th with a time of 21:10. Alison Coleman finished just behind her, clocking in at 21:14.
Next for the Lady Lancers were Heather Plastow and Suzanne Sickafoose, who finished back-to-back just six seconds apart a shade under 23 minutes. Mackenzie Adams rounded out the scoring with a time of 23:18.
“I’m proud of the way the women’s team has fought through adversity this year. A number of athletes have spent significant time on the sidelines,” said Raymond.
The women’s team has been hampered by injuries all season, but they had a pair of runners compete who have missed a majority of the season.
To see complete results, click here.
Both teams continue postseason play as they return to action at the NCCAA National Championship meet in Branson, Mo., on Nov. 10.