WINONA LAKE, Ind. - For a 0-0 game, Saturday's rivalry clash between Grace's soccer team and Bethel was action-packed.
Although neither team could score, the sides played an intense and entertaining match in front of an energetic crowd at 1st Source Bank Field.
"We didn't want a tie out of that game, and I thought the guys showed that they were ready to win it. But this was a good turnaround game for us overall, helping us get out of our slump," said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. "We are going after constant improvement, and I think the guys are making progress in that regard. Our desire is to take this conference one game at a time, so we turn our focus to Marian next."
In the early portions of the match, Bethel had the larger part of possession, but the Lancers (3-2-4, 0-0-1 Crossroads League) had better chances.
Grace earned a free kick from 21 yards out, but Cody Boerema's free kick was blocked.
A similar play happened near the end of the half. Boerema perfectly placed a free kick to the far post, and Bethel's goalkeeper just poked the shot wide enough to hit the post. Grace scored on the ensuing loose ball, but the official disallowed the goal due to offsides.
Bethel picked up urgency in response to Grace's close call and had its strongest looks of the half in the final minutes. But the teams still went into halftime scoreless.
After a relatively calm first half filled with possession, the second half saw play open up tremendously. Grace began to assert itself with its pace in attack and fired seven shots in the second half.
Joshua Coupar tried his hand at a free kick five minutes into the half, but his high, curling effort was saved.
Ten minutes later, Marcelo Talamas nearly scored. He was on the receiving end of a well-placed cross, but his sliding shot was saved.
The Pilots (6-2-2, 0-0-1 CL) looked their best counterattacking after halftime. Bethel found space on a counter with 18 minutes left in regulation, but a hard shot from the right side of the penalty box was saved by Kurt Hamlin.
Grace seemed ready to score in the first overtime. The Lancers kept pressure on Bethel's defensive end, taking four shots.
Boerema had three shots on goal alone in the 10-minute period with his last effort nearly scoring. He fired off a low blast from outside the penalty box, but his shot to the far post was stopped at the goal line by a Pilot defender.
The second overtime saw another goal waved off for the Lancers. Damon Binkley broke free on a long run toward Bethel's goal. He beat the Pilots' goalkeeper one-on-one, but he was judged to be offside to keep the match scoreless.
Hamlin came up with a pair of important saves in the second overtime, using quick reflexes to deny a goal-scoring chance from the Pilots in the last minutes.
Both teams fired 16 shots with 12 of Grace's shots going on frame. Boerema tried seven shots, and Talamas shot three times.
Hamlin made eight saves to record the 110-minute shutout for Grace. He was defended well by Coupar, Josiah Osborn, Gabriel Osti and Zeb Johansson.
"We had some guys step up tonight, especially as we were missing two starters. I thought Colin Cape played a really focused game, and Togo [Narusawa] and Ulisses [Miranda] were solid tonight," Hotchkin said. "It was especially good to get Cody back on the field with decent minutes. I think everybody can see what he is capable of."
The Lancers resume league action on Wednesday, traveling to Marian for a 7 p.m. match.
