Lady Lancers Win First Golf Title
August 29, 2016 at 4:21 p.m.
Lady Lancers Win First Golf Title
By Josh Neuhart-
Two days after setting the team’s lowest round in program history, the Lady Lancers won their first invitational in the two-year history of the program.
Grace claimed the championship of the IU East Invitational, shooting 340 as a team to win by 10 strokes.
A pair of freshmen led Grace; Sydney Abbott and Anna Marshall both carded an 84 to tie for third on the individual leaderboard.
Libby Tully was not far behind with an 85, and Lauren Keiser shot an 87. Paige Shearer also competed for the Lady Lancers and finished with a 96.
Grace beat second-place IU East by 10 strokes, 340 to 350. Other squads competing in the tournament were St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Oakland City and Shawnee State.
“The girls played really well today. The course was one of those old ones with huge, mature trees and narrow fairways. It didn't have a lot of forward tee options, so it was set up to play a couple hundred yards farther than we normally play,” said Grace head coach Denny Duncan. “I think our score was really solid. Our consistency will carry us a long way. We played today with two sophomores and three freshmen, so the future of the Lady Lancers looks really good.”
The Lady Lancers will compete at the IWU Invitational this weekend.
MEN’S SOCCER
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s men’s soccer team used two goals, one in each half, to defeat Ohio Christian and improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Lancers earned goals from Henrique Cerruti and Daniel Smith to beat Ohio Christian University 2-1 on Saturday at Miller Athletic Complex.
The Lancers outshot the Trailblazers (0-2) by eight on the evening, 13-5. But Grace had to hold on to survive a late charge by Ohio Christian.
OCU only had one shot in the first half, but it was a strong attempt. OCU’s shot forced Grace goalkeeper Robbie Barnhill into making a one-handed save, which parried the shot above the crossbar.
The Lancers secured control of the match shortly after OCU’s shot and had the better chances for the rest of the half.
Thomas Tydeman had a low shot saved, and Jon Christensen tried a long effort after creating space from the midfield.
Nikola Djordjevic thought he had put Grace ahead in the 22nd minute. After a nice buildup with Tydeman, Djordjevic slotted a shot around OCU’s goalkeeper, but the shot clanged off the post.
Grace eventually broke through in the 44th minute. Breno Oliveira tried a shot from outside the box which was blocked. Cerruti pounced on the ball first and calmly laced his shot inside the right post for his first collegiate goal.
Grace’s second goal came 10 minutes into the second half. Daniel Smith found space at the top edge of the box and curled his effort into the far post. The moment marked Smith’s first goal as a Lancer.
But OCU stayed within striking distance. The Trailblazers used a quick attack in the 85th minute to score their first goal, setting up a nervy finish for the Lancers.
OCU earned a 25-yard free kick in the final 80 seconds of the match, but Grace’s defense cleared away the cross and held on for the 2-1 victory.
“We struggled to connect our offense with the rest of the team tonight. We produced many quality chances in the first half but failed to score several times. The second half started well, but we dropped off our tempo. We were disconnected and showed no real plan in our attack,” said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. “It’s a process right now, and we are all learning together. We are slowly becoming a team, and as that happens our soccer will improve.”
Grace outshot OCU 8-1 in the first half and 5-4 in the second. Barnhill tended Grace’s net in the first half and made one save, while Kurt Hamlin finished the match as goalie after halftime and had three saves.
The Lancers are on the road Tuesday with a match at Moody Bible. Grace returns home Saturday for a tussle with Bluefield.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
LIMA, Ohio – The season opener for Grace’s women’s soccer team saw eight goals in a top-15 NAIA battle.
No. 3 Northwestern Ohio came out ahead of No. 11 Grace 6-2 as the Lady Lancers struggled to slow down the Racers’ attack on Saturday.
The match started evenly but timidly as Grace took the only shot in the opening 10 minutes. The final 15 minutes produced four goals, however – all from the feet of the Racers.
UNOH’s pressing attack began to spark a few chances. A long pass squeezed past Grace’s backline, but Abby Schue charged off her line and dove onto the ball to prevent a 1-on-1.
Grace’s offense, meanwhile, struggled to produce dangerous shots in the opening half. Kristen Bellinger tried a long free kick which sailed wide of net midway through the half.
With 15 minutes left in the half, UNOH punctured Grace’s defense. The Lady Lancers failed to clear a loose ball at the top of the penalty box, and the Racers capitalized to scrap a shot past Schue and take a 1-0 lead.
The Racers doubled their lead seven minutes later after a well-worked attack through the middle of Grace’s defense.
Matters then went from bad to worse. The Racers knifed through Grace’s defense for two more goals in the span of 64 seconds. The goals were separated in real-time by 30 minutes as a lightning delay paused game action.
The Lady Lancers pressed late in the half and earned a few corner kicks, but Grace could not get off a clear shot.
In the second half, Grace and UNOH both scored two goals apiece. The Racers scored their pair in the 54th and the 55th minute. The Lady Lancers responded with two goals of their own in the final 10 minutes.
Meredith Hollar scored first for Grace, blasting her shot beyond the touch of UNOH’s goalkeeper in the 83rd minute.
At the 88:46 mark, Grace doubled its output with another goal. Clair Snodgrass set up Hannah Miller, and the senior converted the shot for her first goal in a Lady Lancer uniform.
Overall, Grace was outshot 20-8 in the match but only 8-5 in the second half. Hollar had three of Grace’s eight shots, and Kristen Bellinger had two shots.
Freshmen McKenna Cruz, Liz Van Wormer, Isabel Applequist, Flavia Faria, Corinne Villalobos and Joana Schimmel each made their Grace debuts.
“Today was a wakeup call for our crew. UNOH was very effective and efficient. They are a top-class team and demonstrated that. At times we were dreadful, extremely disorganized and undisciplined. We handed them too many great opportunities, and they made us pay. I’m not pleased with us giving away anything cheaply,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “There were sections of good futbol from us. We did not sit in and bunker down, and I’m proud of the women for working hard. We’ve got work to do; that’s obvious. We are nowhere near our best right now, but I have full confidence that each of the women will respond appropriately.”
The Lady Lancers will take on another ranked opponent on Thursday, playing at No. 8 Martin Methodist at 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s volleyball team scored an emphatic 3-0 victory over IU Kokomo on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (4-1) excelled on the offensive side of the net, hitting at a .219 percentage as a team with 41 kills.
The Cougars (0-1), who competed at NAIA Nationals and had a record of 31-5 last season, struggled to slow down Grace’s attack.
Kelsee Zuidema’s 11 kills and Sierra Smith’s 10 kills led all players. Smith hit at a match-high .476 percentage.
IU Kokomo led in the early stages of the match. Grace built its rally on key defensive plays, including a timely solo block by Marta Bleed.
A kill by Taylor Baird gave Grace a 14-13 edge in the first set, forcing a timeout from the Cougars. The strategy did not pay off, however, as the Lady Lancers pulled away for a 25-18 win.
The second and third sets were tightly contested with Grace holding a slight lead throughout the majority of the match. Grace’s offense continued to power along, connecting on 13 kills in the second set and 15 in the third.
The Lady Lancers won the second set 25-22 and were ahead 22-17 in the third. The Cougars clawed back with a 5-1 run to chop Grace’s lead to one. But Caylie Teel blasted a momentum-shifting kill from the back row to make the score 24-22, and Grace clinched the match after a violation by the Cougars on the next point.
Sara Miller had an impressive day with 21 digs and no service errors in 14 tries. Kari Feddema tallied 7 kills on a .389 percentage to go along with 1 solo and 2 block assists.
Savannah Hart had 7 kills, 2 aces and 2 block assists, Taylor Baird passed out 34 assists to go along with 2 kills and 2 block assists, and Teel finished the match with 17 digs.
The Lady Lancers will kick off the Crossroads League season on Wednesday against the reigning league champs. Grace hosts Mt. Vernon Nazarene at 7 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
CROSS COUNTRY
WESTVILLE – Grace’s cross country team blew past the field in the season-opening Northwest Classic on Friday.
Raven Arellano won the race for the women’s team in a time of 20:01, and Nathan Lane won the men’s race in 16:59.
Overall, the women’s team had seven of the top 11 individual finishers in the race, and the men’s team boasted seven in the top 10.
“This was a good start to the year. We really considered it a workout and set some specific groups and paces, which everyone followed fairly well,” said Grace coach Jeff Raymond. “We will learn a lot more about our team over the next month with some challenging competition, but I'm pleased with where we are at this early date.”
In the women’s race, Arellano claimed the title by over 16 seconds. Karla Singer was fourth overall in a time of 21:05.
The next three finishers were all freshmen — Alison Coleman (fifth), Brigit Nemitz (sixth) and Brooke Smith (seventh).
The men’s side saw a pack of Lancers at the front. Grace’s top seven, who all placed in the top 10, had a spread of 35 seconds.
Lane and Ben Rankin finished 1-2 in the race, with the freshman Rankin putting up a time of 17:00.
Joel Bertelsen was fifth in the race, and Sam Hall was three seconds behind him for sixth. Hunter Reed, Brendan Hamilton and Tyler Houvener all finished in the race’s top 10.
The Lancers’ next meet is Sept. 9 at the IWU Invitational.
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Two days after setting the team’s lowest round in program history, the Lady Lancers won their first invitational in the two-year history of the program.
Grace claimed the championship of the IU East Invitational, shooting 340 as a team to win by 10 strokes.
A pair of freshmen led Grace; Sydney Abbott and Anna Marshall both carded an 84 to tie for third on the individual leaderboard.
Libby Tully was not far behind with an 85, and Lauren Keiser shot an 87. Paige Shearer also competed for the Lady Lancers and finished with a 96.
Grace beat second-place IU East by 10 strokes, 340 to 350. Other squads competing in the tournament were St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Oakland City and Shawnee State.
“The girls played really well today. The course was one of those old ones with huge, mature trees and narrow fairways. It didn't have a lot of forward tee options, so it was set up to play a couple hundred yards farther than we normally play,” said Grace head coach Denny Duncan. “I think our score was really solid. Our consistency will carry us a long way. We played today with two sophomores and three freshmen, so the future of the Lady Lancers looks really good.”
The Lady Lancers will compete at the IWU Invitational this weekend.
MEN’S SOCCER
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s men’s soccer team used two goals, one in each half, to defeat Ohio Christian and improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Lancers earned goals from Henrique Cerruti and Daniel Smith to beat Ohio Christian University 2-1 on Saturday at Miller Athletic Complex.
The Lancers outshot the Trailblazers (0-2) by eight on the evening, 13-5. But Grace had to hold on to survive a late charge by Ohio Christian.
OCU only had one shot in the first half, but it was a strong attempt. OCU’s shot forced Grace goalkeeper Robbie Barnhill into making a one-handed save, which parried the shot above the crossbar.
The Lancers secured control of the match shortly after OCU’s shot and had the better chances for the rest of the half.
Thomas Tydeman had a low shot saved, and Jon Christensen tried a long effort after creating space from the midfield.
Nikola Djordjevic thought he had put Grace ahead in the 22nd minute. After a nice buildup with Tydeman, Djordjevic slotted a shot around OCU’s goalkeeper, but the shot clanged off the post.
Grace eventually broke through in the 44th minute. Breno Oliveira tried a shot from outside the box which was blocked. Cerruti pounced on the ball first and calmly laced his shot inside the right post for his first collegiate goal.
Grace’s second goal came 10 minutes into the second half. Daniel Smith found space at the top edge of the box and curled his effort into the far post. The moment marked Smith’s first goal as a Lancer.
But OCU stayed within striking distance. The Trailblazers used a quick attack in the 85th minute to score their first goal, setting up a nervy finish for the Lancers.
OCU earned a 25-yard free kick in the final 80 seconds of the match, but Grace’s defense cleared away the cross and held on for the 2-1 victory.
“We struggled to connect our offense with the rest of the team tonight. We produced many quality chances in the first half but failed to score several times. The second half started well, but we dropped off our tempo. We were disconnected and showed no real plan in our attack,” said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. “It’s a process right now, and we are all learning together. We are slowly becoming a team, and as that happens our soccer will improve.”
Grace outshot OCU 8-1 in the first half and 5-4 in the second. Barnhill tended Grace’s net in the first half and made one save, while Kurt Hamlin finished the match as goalie after halftime and had three saves.
The Lancers are on the road Tuesday with a match at Moody Bible. Grace returns home Saturday for a tussle with Bluefield.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
LIMA, Ohio – The season opener for Grace’s women’s soccer team saw eight goals in a top-15 NAIA battle.
No. 3 Northwestern Ohio came out ahead of No. 11 Grace 6-2 as the Lady Lancers struggled to slow down the Racers’ attack on Saturday.
The match started evenly but timidly as Grace took the only shot in the opening 10 minutes. The final 15 minutes produced four goals, however – all from the feet of the Racers.
UNOH’s pressing attack began to spark a few chances. A long pass squeezed past Grace’s backline, but Abby Schue charged off her line and dove onto the ball to prevent a 1-on-1.
Grace’s offense, meanwhile, struggled to produce dangerous shots in the opening half. Kristen Bellinger tried a long free kick which sailed wide of net midway through the half.
With 15 minutes left in the half, UNOH punctured Grace’s defense. The Lady Lancers failed to clear a loose ball at the top of the penalty box, and the Racers capitalized to scrap a shot past Schue and take a 1-0 lead.
The Racers doubled their lead seven minutes later after a well-worked attack through the middle of Grace’s defense.
Matters then went from bad to worse. The Racers knifed through Grace’s defense for two more goals in the span of 64 seconds. The goals were separated in real-time by 30 minutes as a lightning delay paused game action.
The Lady Lancers pressed late in the half and earned a few corner kicks, but Grace could not get off a clear shot.
In the second half, Grace and UNOH both scored two goals apiece. The Racers scored their pair in the 54th and the 55th minute. The Lady Lancers responded with two goals of their own in the final 10 minutes.
Meredith Hollar scored first for Grace, blasting her shot beyond the touch of UNOH’s goalkeeper in the 83rd minute.
At the 88:46 mark, Grace doubled its output with another goal. Clair Snodgrass set up Hannah Miller, and the senior converted the shot for her first goal in a Lady Lancer uniform.
Overall, Grace was outshot 20-8 in the match but only 8-5 in the second half. Hollar had three of Grace’s eight shots, and Kristen Bellinger had two shots.
Freshmen McKenna Cruz, Liz Van Wormer, Isabel Applequist, Flavia Faria, Corinne Villalobos and Joana Schimmel each made their Grace debuts.
“Today was a wakeup call for our crew. UNOH was very effective and efficient. They are a top-class team and demonstrated that. At times we were dreadful, extremely disorganized and undisciplined. We handed them too many great opportunities, and they made us pay. I’m not pleased with us giving away anything cheaply,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “There were sections of good futbol from us. We did not sit in and bunker down, and I’m proud of the women for working hard. We’ve got work to do; that’s obvious. We are nowhere near our best right now, but I have full confidence that each of the women will respond appropriately.”
The Lady Lancers will take on another ranked opponent on Thursday, playing at No. 8 Martin Methodist at 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s volleyball team scored an emphatic 3-0 victory over IU Kokomo on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (4-1) excelled on the offensive side of the net, hitting at a .219 percentage as a team with 41 kills.
The Cougars (0-1), who competed at NAIA Nationals and had a record of 31-5 last season, struggled to slow down Grace’s attack.
Kelsee Zuidema’s 11 kills and Sierra Smith’s 10 kills led all players. Smith hit at a match-high .476 percentage.
IU Kokomo led in the early stages of the match. Grace built its rally on key defensive plays, including a timely solo block by Marta Bleed.
A kill by Taylor Baird gave Grace a 14-13 edge in the first set, forcing a timeout from the Cougars. The strategy did not pay off, however, as the Lady Lancers pulled away for a 25-18 win.
The second and third sets were tightly contested with Grace holding a slight lead throughout the majority of the match. Grace’s offense continued to power along, connecting on 13 kills in the second set and 15 in the third.
The Lady Lancers won the second set 25-22 and were ahead 22-17 in the third. The Cougars clawed back with a 5-1 run to chop Grace’s lead to one. But Caylie Teel blasted a momentum-shifting kill from the back row to make the score 24-22, and Grace clinched the match after a violation by the Cougars on the next point.
Sara Miller had an impressive day with 21 digs and no service errors in 14 tries. Kari Feddema tallied 7 kills on a .389 percentage to go along with 1 solo and 2 block assists.
Savannah Hart had 7 kills, 2 aces and 2 block assists, Taylor Baird passed out 34 assists to go along with 2 kills and 2 block assists, and Teel finished the match with 17 digs.
The Lady Lancers will kick off the Crossroads League season on Wednesday against the reigning league champs. Grace hosts Mt. Vernon Nazarene at 7 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
CROSS COUNTRY
WESTVILLE – Grace’s cross country team blew past the field in the season-opening Northwest Classic on Friday.
Raven Arellano won the race for the women’s team in a time of 20:01, and Nathan Lane won the men’s race in 16:59.
Overall, the women’s team had seven of the top 11 individual finishers in the race, and the men’s team boasted seven in the top 10.
“This was a good start to the year. We really considered it a workout and set some specific groups and paces, which everyone followed fairly well,” said Grace coach Jeff Raymond. “We will learn a lot more about our team over the next month with some challenging competition, but I'm pleased with where we are at this early date.”
In the women’s race, Arellano claimed the title by over 16 seconds. Karla Singer was fourth overall in a time of 21:05.
The next three finishers were all freshmen — Alison Coleman (fifth), Brigit Nemitz (sixth) and Brooke Smith (seventh).
The men’s side saw a pack of Lancers at the front. Grace’s top seven, who all placed in the top 10, had a spread of 35 seconds.
Lane and Ben Rankin finished 1-2 in the race, with the freshman Rankin putting up a time of 17:00.
Joel Bertelsen was fifth in the race, and Sam Hall was three seconds behind him for sixth. Hunter Reed, Brendan Hamilton and Tyler Houvener all finished in the race’s top 10.
The Lancers’ next meet is Sept. 9 at the IWU Invitational.
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