WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace’s women’s soccer team continued its undefeated season with a 2-1 win over Taylor on Saturday.
The Lancers (9-0-1, 1-0-1 Crossroads League) quickly erased a one-goal deficit, scoring a goal in each half to dispatch the Trojans (4-3-2, 1-1 CL).
Grace finished the match with a 13-11 advantage in shots, increasing its unbeaten run to 10 straight matches.
The first half saw plenty of back and forth action between the two highest-scoring teams in the Crossroads League.
Taylor struck first in the ninth minute, finding free space after a corner kick and shooting into the back of the net from outside the penalty box.
Grace quickly turned on its offensive firepower in response. A few minutes later, Madelief Lowik tried a deep shot that beat the goalkeeper but bounced off the crossbar.
But shortly afterwards, Grace found its equalizer. Cassidy Felger led Audrey Abel into space with a pass at the top edge of the penalty box. Abel drew two defenders but showed patience until she found an opening. Abel then ripped a right-footed effort that flew inside the far post in the 14th minute.
The rest of the half produced a midfield battle. Grace had more time on the ball and generated several dangerous free kicks and six corner kicks.
The Lancers’ best chance came in the final five minutes of the half. Tori Twombly stole the ball from the Trojans’ defenders. She raced 40 yards down the field, but her effort rolled wide of the goal frame.
The match reached halftime even at 1-1. The Lancers owned a 7-5 advantage in shots and 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
The second half was evenly played between the sides. Grace had more chances early in the half, producing the game-winning moment early in the half.
Grace earned a corner kick six minutes into the half. A loose ball fell to Jasmin Slump who tried a volley in the box.
The ball fell to Jaylin Young, and the freshman defender quickly shot from close range through a crowd to score the eventual game winner.
The Lancers defended well for the rest of the half. Taylor was held scoreless as they pursued an equalizer, allowing Grace to secure the conference victory.
Grace’s best chances after Young’s goal included a hard shot from Rosalie Gefrorer, a curving effort from Hannah Merlin and a free kick attempt from Amy Wearing.
Sofia Williams registered eight saves in the victory, totaling a season-high in saves.
The Lancers have a challenging week ahead, playing at No. 17 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday and at No. 10 Marian on Saturday.
Grace will return home on Oct. 12 against St. Francis.

Lancers Sweep Foresters For Seventh-Straight Win
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - The winning streak for Grace’s volleyball team continued with a 3-0 sweep of Huntington on Saturday.
The Lancers (13-2, 7-1 Crossroads League) were efficient, producing 10 more kills, 7 more digs and 3 more block points than the Foresters (11-8, 3-5 CL).
Grace finished the match with 43 kills on a .213 percentage; they held HU to 33 kills on a .063 percentage.
Anna Ballengee helped Grace begin the match well with two early kills. The Lancers won three of the first four points, but Huntington immediately responded with an 8-0 run to charge in front.
Grace was not fazed. The No. 19-ranked Lancers countered with a swift 9-2 run, benefitting from a trio of kills from Alisha Voss.
The Foresters managed to regain the lead midway into the set and owned a 17-14 advantage, but two kills in a row from Sahara Bee capped off a 5-0 spurt.
Bee added another kill down the stretch, and the Foresters committed four attack errors over the final few rallies to allow Grace to win 25-21.
The Lancers’ attack was relentless in the second set. Grace held a small cushion throughout the set and rolled away to a 25-17 victory.
Jadyn Ross racked up five kills on seven attempts during the set, and Anna Elkin echoed that effort with five kills of her own on seven swings.
Grace closed out the match in the third set. The Lancers led for most of the set, but the Foresters rallied to even the score at 16s.
Voss then roared to life, scoring three straight points with two blocks and a kill. Kills over the final few rallies from Callie Jo Celichowski, Leah Henderson and Brea Harris allowed the Lancers to secure the sweep with a 25-22 win.
Voss produced 9 kills, 1 solo block and 4 block assists, and Ballengee tallied nine kills with six digs.
Elkin finished with seven kills and a pair of block assists, and Riley Owens had 15 assists with 13 digs.
Bee had five kills with two block assists, Ross had six kills with three block assists, and Livia Tate added three block assists.
Blackford aced twice, and Morgan Syoen produced 17 assists with seven digs.
Grace’s back row was bolstered by nine digs apiece from Olivia Martinez and McKenzie Stakely as well as eight digs from Liz Schmidt.
The Lancers travel to No. 22 Marian on Wednesday. Grace’s next home match is Oct. 9 against the reigning NAIA national champion Indiana Wesleyan.

Lancers Claim League Tennis Title Outright
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's tennis team buttoned up its third-straight regular season title on Saturday afternoon with a 4-1 victory over Spring Arbor. The Lancers extended their regular season conference win streak to 24 games, going a perfect 8-0 for the third time in three years.
Grace held the early momentum by getting the first point of the day from doubles. Artur Pons and Luis Cordoba came out ahead 6-1 to do their part. Pablo Gregori and Salva Pons secured the point with their 6-4 victory to put Grace ahead 1-0.
When the match turned to singles action, the Lancers extended their lead with a win in the No. 5 slot. Manuel Marques had some work to do in the first set 7-5. But took care of business in the second set, winning 6-0.
The Cougars tried to change the tide with a win on court four to get within one, but the Lancers were too much to handle. The next two points went to the home team, clinching the match and claiming the regular season title outright.
Roko Misura put the team one point away when he took No. 6 singles 6-3, 7-6(2). Gregori added to the career mark he recently set with a quick 6-0, 6-2 win in the top spot.
The Lancers will have home court advantage throughout the league tournament after locking up the top seed. The quarterfinal matchup is set for Tuesday against St. Francis at the Don Cramer Tennis Courts.

Lancers Win League Finale Over Cougars
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's women's tennis team finished the Crossroads League regular season with a 4-1 over Spring Arbor on Saturday afternoon. The Lancers locked up the No. 3 seed as well as a quarterfinal home match in next week's conference tournament.
Grace started off on the right foot, earning the doubles point to gain the early advantage. Each team collected one from doubles play, setting up a showdown at No. 1 doubles. The Lancers came out on top to earn the doubles point.
Geraldine Salinas and Lydia Ruegsegger started out doubles with a 6-2 showing, then Jimena Ramirez and Alejandra Sandoval cleaned up the point with their 6-4 triumph.
On the singles courts, the teams played to clinch, meaning the first team to four would end the match. Molli Runestad gave Grace a two point cushion when she won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
The Cougars clawed back a point to get within one, but that is all the scoring they could muster on the day. The next two points went to the home team, with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 in the rotation.
Salinas, after falling behind early, needed a tiebreaker to pick up her point. She went 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to put the Lancer one point away. Sandoval produced the clinching point, making quick work of her opponent 6-0, 6-1.
The final two matches did not finish, though Ramirez was ahead in her match 6-4, 5-2 and Natatie Schoenherr was deadlocked 2-2 in hers.
The Lancers will face off against Goshen in the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League on Tuesday. Grace enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed.