No. 16 Grace Topples No. 6 IWU, Advances to CL Championship

MARION, Ind. - The memorable season for Grace's women's soccer team continued with a dramatic 1-0 upset of No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.

The No. 16 Lancers (15-2-3) took down the second-seeded Wildcats in the semifinals of the Crossroads League Tournament.

Grace advances to the tournament championship match, which will be held at No. 2 Marian on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Audrey Abel scored the game-winning goal in the second half, sending Grace past the Wildcats (14-3-1).

The first 12 minutes saw Grace control the game with possession. Nora Pollock earned a shot in the first few minutes.

Abel dribbled half the length of the field during a counterattack in the 18th minute, trying a shot that went above the goal.

The Wildcats were limited to two shot attempts over the first 37 minutes of the half.

In the final five minutes, Grace had two shots that were blocked, including one from Cassidy Felger and another from Madelief Lowik.

The match was scoreless as the game reached halftime. Grace had a 6-4 advantage in shots and 2-1 edge in corner kicks.

Grace continued to find chances as the second half began. Grace peppered IWU's net with three shots on goal early in the second half, but each attempt was denied.

Midway into the half, Grace's goal-scoring opportunities continue to grow. The Lancers had a shot from Abel that went wide.

The pivotal moment occurred in the 65th minute. Ellie Grieser was a force in the penalty box, moving the ball into a dangerous position. She passed to Rosalie Gefrorer, whose curling attempt resulted in a diving save by IWU's goalkeeper.

The rebound was collected inside the box by Grieser, who was promptly knocked over by a defender.

Grace was awarded a penalty kick for the foul, and Abel made good on the moment, rifling her shot into the back of the net at the 64:18 mark.

The Lancers reinforced their defense down the stretch and did not take another shot for the rest of the game.

The Wildcats did their best to find an equalizer, trying five shots after Grace's goal. But the Lancers refused to surrender an IWU goal as Grace ran out the clock on the semifinal win.

The Lancers outshot IWU 12-11 with each team taking five shots on goal.

Ivy Cline produced five saves in the shutout performance. The defensive line of Zoe Mueller, Heidi Kever, Hannah Medlin and Jaylin Young helped Grace earn the team's 15th clean sheet of the season.

Pollock led all players with four shots, Abel shot three times, and Lowik and Felger had two shots apiece.