Lady Cougars Rally to Stun Grace 2-1 in MCC Semifinal


	Lady Cougar Soccer Game Recaps Lady Cougars Rally to Stun Grace 2-1 in MCC Semifinal written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director BOXSCORE WINONA LAKE, Ind. (11-5-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's soccer team scored two goals in the final four minutes to rally and shock No. 2 seed Grace (Ind.) College 2-1 in Mid-Central College Conference Tournament semifinal match played on the Lady Lancers' home pitch on Saturday afternoon. Grace (11-7-2), which defeated the Lady Cougars 2-1 at MVNU during the regular season, got on the scoreboard in the 24th minute when Jocelyn Evans took a pass from Jalisa Thayer and chipped a shot over goalkeeper Lexus Andolino to give the Lady Lancers a 1-0 lead. Despite being out-shot 8-5 by the Lady Cougars, Grace's lead held up through the remainder of the first half. MVNU continued to lead the Lady Lancers in shots 4-3 as the time kept ticking away and it appeared more and more like Grace would post a 1-0 shutout victory. Then, with just 3:58 left in regulation, freshman midfielder Megan Griffith gathered a pass from junior forward Jessica Linger in the penalty box and found the back of the net with the equalizer for the Lady Cougars to knot the score at 1-1. The goal was Griffith's fourth of the season, while Linger notched her second assist. Fueled by the momentum from that goal, MVNU continued to press forward on the attack. With just 94 seconds left in the match, senior forward Amanda Woods *(right)* took a cross from Linger and scored to give the Lady Cougars a 2-1 lead as Grace was left stunned. The goal was Woods sixth of the year as she moved into a tie for the team lead with Linger, who notched her second assist of the match and third of the season. The Lady Lancers were unable to equalize in the waning seconds and MVNU celebrated the 2-1 victory to advance to the MCC Tournament championship match next Saturday. "Today's match was yet another great battle between two very strong teams and I would like to commend Grace for a well-played match," said MVNU coach Daniel Seiffert. "What more can I say about our players? Match after match, they continue to show their resilience, grit, and determination. To go down by one goal early and then to come back and score two goals in the last four minutes of the match was a testament to our players' mettle and I could not be more proud of them." The Lady Cougars held a 14-8 advantage in total shots and a 10-4 edge in shots on goal, while both teams registered two corner kicks apiece. Andolino stopped three shots for MVNU, while Carmen Barnhill, the Lady Lancers' goalie, posted eight saves. The Lady Cougars will travel to top seed Spring Arbor (Mich.) University, the regular-season champion who is currently ranked No. 11 in the NAIA, for the MCC Tournament championship match. Spring Arbor (17-2-1) advanced with a 2-1 victory over Marian (Ind.) University on Saturday and they defeated MVNU 4-0 earlier this year. "We'll get back to work to prepare for the MCC championship match next week," said Seiffert. "We truly thank God for all of His blessings and we'll continue to seek to honor Him in everything we do."

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