Head coach Michael Voss enters his 19th season at Grace as the program’s all-time winningest coach. Since accepting the job in 2007, Voss has aggressively recruited women who not only compete at a high level on the field, but who also have a passion for bringing glory to God.
Voss’s trademarked soccer style of “possession-attacking futbol” has resulted in a complete revamp of Grace's women's soccer team. The Lancers have been a consistent national power in the NAIA and NCCAA. The team has qualified for NAIA Nationals six times since 2015, and the team has advanced to 16 national tournaments under Voss's leadership.
He has led Grace to consistent national prominence. They enjoyed a nearly five-year stretch of being ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, a streak of 1,793 consecutive days.
Most recently, Voss was named the 2021 NCCAA National Coach of the Year after guiding Grace to the 2021 NCCAA national championship -- the first national title in team history. They repeated as NCCAA national champions in 2022 after a dominating run through the tournament field in Florida.
After a stellar 2020-21 season, Grace finished the year ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. During the fall, Grace made a run to the championship games of the Crossroads League Tournament and NCCAA National Championships over the span of 14 days. Grace took down Spring Arbor on the road in the semifinals despite playing without the team's leading goalscorer. Grace had five players earn All-American recognition at the conclusion of the season.
The 2018 season was a memorable one in Grace's history. The Lancers (20-4-1) won 20 games for the first time and also claimed their first Crossroads League championship. Grace hosted the Opening Round of NAIA Nationals for the second time in program history at 1st Source Bank Field. The team ended the season ranked No. 16 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll.
The 2019 campaign saw Grace advance to the NAIA tournament again. The Lancers won two matches in the national tournament and finished the year ranked No. 14 in the final NAIA poll.
Grace won its first NAIA tournament game (2-1) over Park and ended the 2015 season with a 15-3-3 record. During the 2015 season, Grace went undefeated in nonconference play, defeating the No. 2, No. 11 and No. 16-ranked teams in the process.
From 2009-14, the Lancers made five trips to the NCCAA National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla. The 2014 season saw Grace reach the NCCAA national championship match. The Lancers also earned their first NAIA Top 25 ranking in 2014 and ended the year at No. 18.
Voss holds the top eight single-season marks in Grace’s program history, leading the Lancers to a 14-6-3 record in 2009, 14-7-3 record in 2011, 17-5-3 record in 2012, 13-7-2 record in 2013, 17-5-3 record in 2014, 15-3-3 mark in 2015, 20-4-1 in 2018 and 16-5-2 in 2019.
Voss’s successful recruiting has been on display as the team earned both the Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year awards from 2013-15. In 2019, freshman JJ Aalbue was named the NCCAA National Player of the Year, Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. In 2012 a pair of Lancer freshmen (Mallory Rondeau, Carianne Sobey) earned First Team NCCAA All-American honors. Rondeau was named the NCCAA National Player of the Year in 2014, Abby Schue was named NAIA First Team All-American, and Meredith Hollar was given the prestigious NCCAA Game Plan 4 Life award. Overall, he has coached 71 All-Americans.
Additionally, the Lancers under Voss have consistently been graded as one of the smartest teams in the nation. Over the past five years, Grace’s team GPA has never been lower than 3.60. The Lancers’ team GPA ranked first across all NAIA women’s soccer programs in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 and was second in the NAIA in 2010 and 2014. Individually, the Lancers have produced 91 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and nine CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans since 2011.
Voss’s desire to disciple the women of Grace’s soccer team is clearly seen in his organizing missions trips for the Lancers. In both the spring of 2014 and 2016, Voss led his team to minister in Nicaragua through the sport of soccer. The team has also traveled to the Cayman Islands and Peru and Costa Rica (2019).
In March 2012, Voss was named an assistant coach for the Women’s National Team of Haiti. His three-year commitment included identification, training and development of Haiti’s Women’s National Team, U-20, U-17 and U-14 WNT. Voss continued in his role as Grace’s full-time head coach in addition to assisting Haiti’s WNT.
Prior to coming to Grace, Voss and his family worked as missionaries to the southern jungle of Belize, Central America. He coached the Toledo United Professional Futbol Club, fighting for a CONCACAF Champions Cup bid.
Voss also worked at the Calvary Chapel Christian Schools in Murrieta, Calif.; from 1996-2005 he was the athletic director, the director of soccer and the head girls’ soccer coach. Voss started the soccer program and compiled a record of 102-51-17.
Voss, who has earned six Coach of the Year honors, attended Santa Clara (Calif.) University from 1991-93 and was a member of the soccer team that finished 20-1-2 and was NCAA Div. I National Finalist in 1991. He would complete his undergraduate work at Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) University in 1996 studying religion with an emphasis in Biblical studies and Greek.
He is licensed with a USSF “C” and an NSCAA “Advanced National Diploma.” He is also a “Certified Athletic Administrator” from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Michael and his wife Summer live in Winona Lake, Ind. They have three boys (Justus, Cole, Landan) and a daughter (Kaina).
