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UPLAND, Ind. - The dominant season for Grace’s women’s soccer team reached another peak on Wednesday night.
The No. 2 Lancers defeated No. 14 Taylor 3-1, securing themselves as the outright champions of the Crossroads League. It marks Grace’s second regular season title (2018) and first time claiming the title outright.
As a result, Grace will enter next week’s CL Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Lancers will get to host every round if they advance. The quarterfinals are set for Tuesday (7 p.m.) against Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
The semifinals will be held next week on Friday, Nov. 6 (7 p.m.), with the tournament championship set for Tuesday, Nov. 10 (7 p.m.). Grace’s CL tournament games will be played at 1st Source Bank Field.
Grace was an immediate aggressor to begin the match. The Lancers had two corner kicks and a shot from Rosalie Gefrorer (blocked) in the first 61 seconds of the contest.
Grace’s pressure produced the opening goal less than eight minutes after kickoff. Cassidy Felger intercepted a pass by TU’s defense, settled herself with a dribble and laced her shot inside the far post for the go-ahead strike.
The lead doubled six minutes later. Felger advanced the ball and passed to Nora Pollock. Pollock juked a defender and played a low cross into the box. The pass fell to Joya Lienammer who tucked her shot into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
With 13 minutes to go in the half, Grace created a third goal. Felger dribbled half of the length of the field by herself, creating space for Rylee Burns. Burns took a few touches and drilled a low shot beyond the reach of the goalkeeper for a stunning 3-0 first-half lead.
Grace took that lead into halftime, outshooting Taylor 7-5 in the half. The Lancers had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks as well.
Taylor showed sparks of life as the Trojans exited their halftime huddle. The Trojans fired off six shots over the first 14 minutes of the half.
Midway into the second half, Taylor managed to pull one goal back. The Trojans scored off a corner kick with 22 minutes remaining, ending an incredible scoreless stretch for Grace’s defense; the Lancers had not conceded a goal for 527 consecutive minutes, a stretch dating back to Sept. 30.
But after Taylor’s goal, the Lancers took control. The Trojans only took one more shot over the final 23 minutes of regulation.
Grace, on the other hand, peppered Taylor’s goal with seven shots during that timeframe while adding three corner kicks.
Neither team added another marker, and the match ended 3-1 in Grace’s favor. The Lancers spilled out onto the field in celebration of a dominant Crossroads League run.
The No. 2 Lancers (13-1-3, 7-0-2 CL) completed their first unbeaten season in CL play. Grace outscored its CL opponents 30-3 during the nine-game conference slate.
Grace will now aim to defend its 2025 CL Tournament title; Grace won the title last year as an underdog, winning the semifinals and championship matches on the road.
The Lancers amassed 19 shot attempts against Taylor on Wednesday to go along with six corner kicks. Elaina Clapp was credited with six saves to earn the win in goal.
