Grace College’s women’s soccer team earned a plethora of postseason awards from the Crossroads League.
Six members of the Lady Lancers’ squad were named to the All-League Team after a strong campaign for Grace.
JJ Aalbue, Victoria Lucido and and Lea Moessinger were named First Team All-League. Alexis Larimore, Bethany Blackwood and Sacia Hanson were honorable mention for All-League.
The Lady Lancers finished a season like no other with a record of 12-6-1. The team’s only losses were to teams who are currently ranked in the top-eight of the NAIA or NCAA Div. II.
The team found success in the postseason, reaching the Crossroads League Tournament championship game and the NCCAA national championship game this fall.
In the spring, Grace was rewarded with an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships for the third straight season under head coach Michael Voss.
Grace won its first-round game 1-0 over Benedictine before narrowly losing at No. 4 Martin Methodist 1-0.
Aalbue battled to injury to tie for the team lead with eight goals and five assists. She was dynamic in conference play with four goals and an assist in seven games played.
Lucido slid into a starting midfielder role in her first season with Grace. She handled the role well with five goals and a team-high eight assists. Three of her five goals were game winners.
Moessinger was ultra-reliable, shifting positions across midfield and defense as one of the steadiest players in the lineup. She started all 19 matches and produced two goals and four assists, including scoring a goal in the NCCAA championship game against Dallas Baptist.
Larimore tied Aalbue for the team lead by scoring eight goals. The speedy forward started in 17 games and had a team-high four game-winning goals.
Blackwood continued her dominance of the league in her third straight year as Grace’s goalkeeper. She recorded nine shutouts while playing all 1,743 minutes of the season as goalie. She surrendered less than a goal per game on average (0.93 per game) and made 81 saves.
Hanson was one of six players to start all 19 games. The tireless winger ended her career with three goals and six assists on the season; she had three assists and a goal in postseason play. – from gclancers.com