INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's women's soccer team made a statement win by upsetting No. 23 Marian 2-0 on the road Tuesday.
Senior Meredith Hollar scored both goals in the victory, netting the pair in the first 20 minutes of the match.
Grace seemed to be the offensive aggressor in the early stages as two offsides whistles were called against the Lady Lancers (2-5-1).
The Knights (6-5) were stunned in the sixth minute when Grace got on the scoreboard. Sabina Meyers received the ball in the middle of the field and split two defenders with a pass to Meredith Hollar. Hollar took care of the rest, faking a shot, dribbling around the goalkeeper and coolly slotting the ball into the open net.
Hollar doubled Grace's lead just 11 minutes later. After Grace won the ball in the backfield, Meyers unleashed a perfect leading pass to Hollar along the right edge of the field. Hollar eyed the goalkeeper off her line and unleashed her goal inside the far post at the 16:12 mark.
"Our goal tonight was to win the ball, keep the ball and find opportunities to score early. We made good decisions on those fronts," said Grace head coach Michael Voss. "It was very helpful to score a goal early, and adding another one put us in a great position to tactically run the game."
Marian's response was to bombard Grace's goal with shots. The Knights peppered the Lady Lancers' goal with 16 shots in the first half but only six were on goal. Grace, on the other hand, had four of its five shots on goal.
The match entered halftime with Grace ahead 2-0.
The second half produced much of the same. Marian launched 10 shots after halftime, but Grace's possession and defensive positioning limited the Knights' truly dangerous moments.
Hannah Miller and Joana Schimmel both had shots for Grace in the second half as the Lady Lancers were content to hold on for a critical 2-0 win.
"I'm glad to see the women starting to fire on all cylinders. They are putting possessions together and getting at goal. I thought we played composed and connected with each other on and off the ball," Voss said. "Marian is a quality side who is strong, technical and has good pace. I thought we limited their quality chances tonight and forced them into areas that were easier for us to handle. A win against a good team like this builds confidence into what we've been building toward all year."
Grace goalkeeper Abby Schue picked up her third shutout of the season. She was credited with 11 saves in 90 minutes and was defended well by the backline of McKenna Cruz, Clair Snodgrass, Aubrey Feipel and Kristelle Jadoo.
The Lady Lancers return to 1st Source Bank Field on Saturday, hosting Bethel at 2 p.m. The match will be the climax of Grace's Homecoming festivities on Saturday.
