WINONA LAKE, Ind. - For the second time this season, Grace’s women’s soccer team finished off a comeback against Taylor.
The Lancers recovered from a one-goal deficit in the second half, beating Taylor 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League Tournament on Wednesday.
Grace (13-3-2) dominated large swaths of the quarterfinal match, but the Lancers needed a five-minute goal flurry to take down the Trojans (7-6-4).
As a result, Grace will play in the tournament semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m. at No. 11 Spring Arbor. The winner of the CL Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
Grace and Taylor battled largely in a possession battle during the first half. The Trojans tried to steal an early goal, placing a dangerous cross into the box.
But the Lancers had the majority of goal-scoring chances in the half. Grace’s possession consistently found gaps in Taylor’s midfield, resulting in several chances.
Grace had its best looks with shots from beyond the penalty box. Lilli Oberhoff, Audrey Abel and Cassidy Felger each tried shots from distance that missed the mark.
In the final 15 minutes of the half, Grace had two more near-misses. The first came from a free kick.
Rosalie Gefrorer was fouled on the edge of the penalty box. Zoe Mueller stepped up to take the free kick, but her sizzling shot whizzed above the crossbar.
Late in the half, a cross into the box fell to the feet of Hannah Medlin, but Medlin’s open attempt went wide of the goal.
The first half ended scoreless. Grace owned a comfortable 8-2 advantage in shots, but corner kicks were even at 3-3.
Grace picked up right where it left off in the second half. The Lancers piled up three shots and three corner kicks across the first seven minutes after halftime.
But the Trojans quickly changed the match with 30 minutes remaining. After a corner kick, Taylor pulled ahead after the corner kick ricocheted off a Grace player and into the goal.
Grace’s response was swift and definitive. The Lancers found an equalizer off a corner kick of their own.
Abel picked out Zoe Mueller on the corner kick, and Mueller pounded her header into the net for an equalizer in the 72nd minute.
Four minutes later, Grace claimed the lead. Abel backheeled a pass to Ellie Grieser on the left sideline. Grieser muscled by a defender and dribbled along the endline. Grieser then unleashed a high shot from a tight angle that sped above the goalkeeper’s arms and tucked safely under the crossbar for the go-ahead goal.
Both of Grace’s goals came in a five-minute span.
The Trojans tried to apply pressure in a comeback attempt of their own, but Grace’s defending and passing gave Taylor few chances.
Taylor could not find a shot attempt over the final 15 minutes of the match, and the Lancers capped off their fourth consecutive victory.
Ivy Cline registered four saves in goal for Grace.
Grace outshot Taylor 17-6 and also outdid the Trojans 7-4 in corner kicks.

Grace Drops MVNU Advances To Semifinals
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s men’s soccer team advanced to the Crossroads League semifinals with a 2-1 win over Mt. Vernon on Wednesday night.
The Lancers (8-7-2) surrendered the first goal of the game just three minutes into the match, but Grace responded with a pair of markers including a second half goal from Seongwhi Lee which proved to be the game-winner.
With the win, Grace will advance to the conference semifinals where they will play host to Spring Arbor at 4pm on Saturday. The Lancers won the previous meeting this season 1-0.
It was all Cougars early in Wednesday night’s quarter final showdown. MVNU had a near miss just 90 seconds into the game before burying the game’s first mark just moments later.
After scoring the go-ahead goal MVNU’s offense went quiet which allowed the Lancer’s to settle into a sustained attack.
In the 15th minute Daniel Santos Rosa ripped a shot on goal from just outside the box. The Cougar keeper was unable to secure the hard shot which resulted in a rebound that bounced to Kyle Holwerda who blasted the loose ball into the net to tie the game at one.
After two goals in the opening 15 minutes the offensive chances died down through the middle portion of the period.
The Cougars had a pair of chances late in the half but neither try towards the net could solve Matteo Conci.
The shots were nearly even in the first half with MVNU holding a narrow 6-5 advantage. Grace had three corner kicks while the Cougars had none.
Play resumed in the second half tied at one but the game wouldn't remain level for long.
Santos Rosa had a set-piece opportunity which he sent into the box to Lee who capitalized with his first goal of the season to push the Lancers ahead 2-1.
Despite jumping into the lead, Grace continued to be the aggressors. The Lancers controlled possession, holding MVNU without a shot until the 75th minute.
Grace’s lead was nearly doubled when Julian Saldivar and Holwerda had back-to-back chances but both shots were fought off by the pesky Cougar’s defense.
Time continued to wind down on the Cougars chances of a comeback but MVNU was unable to spark a threatening chance. The Cougars had one last shot on goal in the final seconds of the game but Conci made the save to secure the 2-1 win for Grace.
The Lancers finished the game with a 14-10 shot advantage and a 7-2 lead in corner kicks.

No. 24 Knights Top No. 18 Grace In Marquee Match
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace’s volleyball team was unable to secure the season sweep of No. 24 Marian on Wednesday night.
The Lancers fell to the Knights in three sets in the final match of the regular season.
Grace will now turn its attention fully on the postseason. The Lancers will be the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament.
As a result, the Lancers will host Bethel on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the CL Tournament.
Grace and Marian had similar kills with the Knights holding two more. But the Lancers’ 25 attacking errors resulted in a .108 percentage. Marian, on the other hand, hit at a .252 percentage.
The Lancers fell behind early in the match 5-1. The Knights (21-7, 12-6 CL) held a comfortable margin throughout the first set and won 25-15. Grace had 10 attack errors in the set to hurt its cause.
Marian jumped out to another lead in the second set, forcing Grace to play from behind. The Lancers rallied midway into the set and took the lead at 15-14 after two kills from Anna Ballengee and another kill from Alisha Voss.
The score remained tight until Marian pulled away late. Grace was unable to halt the Knights’ offense over the closing handful of rallies; Marian won 25-20 after ending the set on a 6-1 run.
Grace racked up 19 kills during the set, but the Knights committed only one attack error in an efficient performance.
The Lancers began the third set better and scored the first three points. But the Knights gained momentum and climbed on top 11-8.
Grace pushed back and pulled within one on three occasions, but Marian seized control late. The Knights won five of the final six rallies to finish off the match with a 25-19 win.
Ballengee led Grace with nine kills, and Voss had eight kills and three block assists.
Brea Harris collected seven kills on a .182 percentage, and Jadyn Ross produced 4 kills, 4 block assists and 4 digs.
Livia Tate notched five kills and two block assists, Anna Elkin had four kills, and Leah Henderson added three kills.
Liz Schmidt paced Grace’s back row with 19 digs, and Olivia Martinez added nine.
Riley Owens notched 20 assists and 13 digs, and Morgan Syoen had 17 assists with 10 digs.