Lady Lancers Step Up In Michigan

The women’s cross country team not only put together its best race of the year on Saturday, the squad produced the fastest team time in school history while placing seventh out of 26 teams at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge, hosted by Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Maroon race – the first of two women’s races – featured 14 teams either ranked in the NAIA top 25 or receiving votes in the polls. By finishing seventh, the Lancers defeated three teams in the top 25, including league foes Indiana Wesleyan, St. Francis and Huntington. The performance should jump Grace into the top 25 after receiving votes in the past two polls.

“We said at the beginning of the season that ‘It takes what it takes‘ when we talked about being in the top 25,” said Coach Jake Poyner. “The team certainly stepped up to the plate today.”

All 10 women who competed in the race produced personal best times over the 5,000 meter course. Leading the way was the trio of sophomore Mallory Hiatt (18:20.5), senior Heather Plastow (18:20.9) and freshmen Kylie Sauder (18:23.6). They each finished among the top 25 individuals out of 226 competitors.

Elizabeth Moore (19:29.8) and Katie Acker (19:47.1) rounded out the top five for the Lancers, helping produce a record team time of 1:34.21. They were followed by Caroline Kolb (19:54.8) and Anna Hulstedt (20:08.6) to complete the top seven.

Also setting personal bests were Ellie Wagoner (20:38.8), Madelyn Skidmore (20:44.2) and Kate Hornocker (20:47.8).

“The ladies went out and proved to themselves, as much as anyone else, that they’re a force to be reckoned with,” added Coach Poyner. “We’ve loved seeing this group continue to take steps forward together, and I am confident that today’s racing motivates them even more to chase something really special.”

Nine Lancer team members competed in the White race later in the day and several also set season-best times. Kaelyn Johnson (20:12.9) was the top finisher for Grace, followed by Karsyn Stewart (21:12.7) and Emma Lingenfelter (21:20.9)

Next up for the Lances will be the Crossroads League Championships hosted by Huntington University on November 6

Women’s Maroon Race Results

Women’s White Race Results 

Lancers Continue To Rewrite Record Books

The Lancers continued their assault on the record books, posting a school-record team time for the second time this season and finishing 10th of 27 teams at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge, hosted by Aquinas College. The race featured 12 teams ranked in the NAIA polls, including seven in the top 15, and seven additional teams receiving votes in the most recent NAIA rankings.

“We’ve been training really well, and we know there’s even more of that training that can show up on race day,” said Coach Jake Poyner. “We’ll celebrate some and then get back to work.”

Junior Bryan Hernandez-Rios shattered his previous best time, running 24:30.2 on the 8,000 meter course and finishing sixth out of 239 runners. The time posted by Hernandez-Rios trails only former NAIA All-American James Kennedy (1998, 1999) in the Lancer record books.

Dimitri Margaritidas ran a personal-best time of 25:30.3 to finish 40th, followed by Logan Rufenacht, who produced a near-record time of 25:57.5. Rounding out the top five for Grace were Macallister Cheek in 26:30.7 and Justin Van Prooyen in 26:33.1. Cheek’s time was a personal best.

The top five runners combined for a team time of 2:09:01, which lowered the Lancer record set earlier this season.

Also competing in the Maroon race were Brandon Kleber (27:03.7), Nathan Woolery (27:07.40), Hayden Mullett (27:15.3), Isaac Beatty (27:37.6) and Jose Quinones (28:31.0).

“I tip my hat to Bryan’s (Hernandez-Rios) front-running heroics,” said Coach Poyner. “I’d also like to mention Nate Woolery, who ran nearly a minute personal best to be our seventh man today.”

Several Grace runners also competed in the White race, led by Luke Smith (28:09.4) and Derek O’Connor (28:11.6).

The Lancers will next compete at the Crossroads League Championships, hosted by Huntington University on November 6.

Men’s Maroon Race Results

Men’s White Race Results

Grace Men’s Soccer 2, Taylor 0

Grace’s men’s soccer team continued its strong run of form, defeating Taylor 2-0 on Saturday for the Lancers’ fourth straight victory.

Martim Cardoso starred for Grace, scoring both goals in the victory. The Lancers (8-8, 5-2 Crossroads League) maintained their grip on second place in the conference standings.

The Lancers end the regular season next week with a pair of road matches. Grace plays at Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday and at Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Saturday.

The top-four finishers in the league standings will host a quarterfinal match in the CL Tournament.

Grace controlled much of the match in terms of possession and had a clear advantage in goal-scoring opportunities. The Lancers finished the match with a 14-6 shot advantage, and only two of the Trojans’ attempts were on goal.

The first 15 minutes saw both teams take turns in possession. Neither side had the upper hand in possession with each team trying one shot.

But in the 15th minute, head coach Arron Patrick inserted a trio of substitutes which made an immediate impact on the game.

Within three minutes, substitutes Cardoso and Ze Maria Goncalves connected for the opening goal. Goncalves lofted a perfect cross to Cardoso in the penalty box, and Cardoso’s shot sliced past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

That lead held for the rest of the half. The Lancers seemed to gain a significant upper hand in possession until halftime. Grace created several dangerous chances but could not score again.

Cardoso had the closest moment. His header from close-range was saved by the Trojan goalkeeper to keep the 1-0 scoreline.

The Lancers held a 6-2 shot advantage at halftime. Grace also had the only three corner kicks of the half.

The story was essentially the same in the second half. The Lancers were more threatening in their attacks after halftime, but again scored once.

Ethan Vigario, Jonny Mora and Jordan Jayapuram had dangerous chances that were thwarted.

But Grace’s offense largely targeted Cardoso. The junior missed on two chances earlier in the half that could have given Grace a cushion. But he made good on his last attempt.

Mora placed a cross beyond the reach of Taylor’s defense, and Cardoso headed his effort inside the far post for the insurance goal.

The Trojans struggled to generate chances as they sought a goal. Matteo Conci needed to make just one save after halftime and two saves overall to record Grace’s shutout.

David Koch, Flavio Cruz and Dan Allen put up an impenetrable defensive front for the Lancers as they recorded their fifth shutout of the season.

The Lancers, winners of four straight, are the hottest team in the league. No other team in the league has a current winning streak greater than one.

Grace finished the match with 14 shots, 6 shots on goal and 7 corner kicks. Taylor had 6 shots, 2 shots on goal and 2 corners.

Cardoso had five shots with three on frame, and Vigario, Jayapuram and Goncalves each shot twice.

Grace Women’s Soccer 1, Taylor 0

A second-half goal from Madison Tuma gave No. 15 Grace’s women’s soccer team a 1-0 victory over Taylor on Saturday.

The Lady Lancers had 17 shots and five corner kicks, and Tuma’s strike proved to be the difference. The win is the fourth in a row for the Lady Lancers (10-4-1, 5-1-1 Crossroads League).

Grace will end the regular season next week by playing at home twice. The Lady Lancers will host No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday (7 p.m.) in a must-watch match at 1st Source Bank Field. The regular season will conclude on Saturday with a home match at 7 p.m. against Mt. Vernon Nazarene.

The Lady Lancers are in prime position for a top-four finish in the Crossroads League, which would guarantee a home match in the tournament quarterfinals.

“Taylor played a tough match today. They have a good brand and bring a work rate that is tough to match,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “We were decent enough defensively and had several really good runs of quality play.”

JJ Aalbue tried the first shot of the match in the sixth minute, but her low drive was saved.

Ten minutes into the game, Grace had a golden opportunity taken away. Alexis Larimore made a mesmerizing run on the right side of the field, dancing by two defenders before being tackled in the penalty box by the Trojans (10-5, 2-5 CL).

But the official waved off the penalty appeal, removing a chance at a penalty kick.

Grace had three corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the match but struggled to put a clean look at Taylor’s net.

Larimore, who proved to be a handful for Taylor’s defense throughout the evening, had a trio of shots denied midway through the half.

Larimore found the back of the net with less than eight minutes remaining in the half, but she was judged to be offsides. She had another shot saved less than a minute later.

The final shot of the half came from Danae Moriarty, whose line drive attempt whisked above the crossbar in the closing minutes.

The teams entered halftime scoreless. Grace had a 9-5 edge in shots to go along with a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

Grace picked up where it left off to begin the second half. Aalbue nearly found the game’s opening goal with a low drive that was kicked off the goal line. Not long after, Grace scored the game winner.

Lea Moessinger, Tuma and Larimore teamed up for a quick advance into Taylor’s end of the field. Larimore laid a pass off to Tuma who fired a low drive that beat the goalkeeper and kissed the far post on its way into the back of the net. It marked Tuma’s team-leading 10th goal of the season.

With 21 minutes remaining in the match, Larimore was inches away from doubling Grace’s lead. She received a strong pass from Moessinger and drilled a left-footed blast that clanged harmlessly off the goalpost.

The Lady Lancers tried three more shots late in the match to no avail.

Bethany Blackwood and Grace’s defending proved too stout for the Trojans on Saturday. Blackwood made five saves, recording the team’s third shutout in the past four matches.

“Bethany made some key decisions to help us, and I don’t think there’s any question about the tackle in the box on Alexis,” Voss continued. “Our offense created fantastic opportunities in both halves, resulting in a quality goal. Our quality is good, and we will live in that moving forward.”

Larimore tried eight shots, and Aalbue shot five times. Four other players for Grace shot once.