Grace blitzes Goshen with six goals
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s women’s soccer team can’t seem to stop scoring. The Lady Lancers dispatched Goshen 6-0 on Senior Night at 1st Source Bank Field.
The Lady Lancers (10-1, 2-0 Crossroads League) are off to their second-best start in program history, just behind the 2015 squad which started 10-0-1.
In Grace’s current six-game winning streak, the Lady Lancers have outscored their opponents 32-1.
Grace scored early and often against Goshen on Saturday. Less than six minutes after kickoff, Grace was on the scoreboard. Kristen Bellinger tried a long-range effort which fooled the goalkeeper for a goal.
The second goal of the half came in the 33rd minute. Jenni Phillips beat her defender on the endline and centered a pass in front of goal to Joana Schimmel, and Schimmel placed her shot into the back of the net.
The score remained 2-0 at halftime with Grace dominating chances and time of possession.
The Lady Lancers were even more aggressive in the second half, seeming to wear down the Maple Leafs (4-3-2, 0-2 CL).
Phillips got a goal of her own in the 54th minute. Allison Vroon intercepted a pass by Goshen and found Phillips with a pass behind Goshen’s defenders. Phillips was tripped up by the Maple Leafs’ goalkeeper for a penalty kick, and Phillips calmly converted on her PK attempt.
Schimmel sparked Grace’s fourth goal in the 65th minute. She squeezed a pass between defenders to Liz Van Wormer at the top of the penalty box. Van Wormer quickly pivoted toward goal and unleashed a laser into the bottom corner of the net.
Senior Clair Snodgrass got in on the scoring at the 78:49 mark. Cassidy Wasson found Snodgrass in space on the right side of the penalty box, and Snodgrass shot above Goshen’s goalkeeper for her first goal of the season.
Snodgrass was on the assisting end of the final goal, just a few minutes later. She beat a defender on the right side of the field and fired a low cross in front of the net to Van Wormer, who powered in her second goal of the night.
The former Warsaw Lady Tiger graduates combined for three goals and an assist in the win. Phillips and Schimmel each had a goal and an assist.
Grace held a dominant 30-3 advantage in shots. Bethany Blackwood made three relatively easy saves in 90 minutes of work to earn the shutout, her eighth of the season.
The Lady Lancers hit the road next week, playing at Bethel on Wednesday at 7 p.m.