WINONA LAKE – The elements forced changes. Insulting the soccer sensibilities, Grace College women’s soccer head coach Michael Voss decided Saturday would be ‘Opposite Day’. In the teeth of a raging snow storm Saturday afternoon, the change of plans allowed Grace to claim a 2-1 win over Park (Mo.) in the first round of the NAIA Women’s Soccer Championship.
For a Grace club that has prided itself on possession and buildup to smother its opponents, Voss realized quickly that adjustments needed to be made. As the pitch was becoming covered in heavy, wet snow, ‘Opposite Day’ was instilled.
Mentioning to his bench and anyone within earshot as the early moments of the match wore on, Voss professed, “This goes against everything you were ever taught in soccer. This can happen, we just have to do Opposite Day.” The plan was to send balls over the top of the defense and sprint to space. Eliminate combinations. Limit back passing. Not just when it was convenient, but every time on the ball.
“This is how we get to Alabama.”
Not even seven minutes into the match, it worked. A slotting pass through the teeth of the driving snow by Darcy Johnston found Mallory Rondeau sprinting behind the Park defense. It took a few crafty touches from one of the best in the game to keep the ball on the clumpy course, but Rondeau found the net for a 1-0 lead.
With just five minutes left in the half, a similar set of circumstances had Meredith Hollar taking a chip from Johnston and using a clever touch to get the ball past Amy Roskell and the elements for a 2-0 lead.
“I think this was pure determination,” Voss said, guiding Grace’s first-ever appearance in the NAIA national tournament. “We talked about ‘solve the problem’. How do you defend against this? You don’t, you just do the best you can. All soccer rules are off and you just have to solve problems. We started with maybe a half inch of snow on the ground and end with a couple inches. That just makes things miserable. That does offend our soccer sensibility but it is what it is today.”
In what was accumulating from four to six inches of snow on much of the pitch midway through the second half, Park was turning the tables. Outshot 12-4 in the first half, Park finally got a few balls deep into the Grace defensive third late in the second half. The wizardry of Emily Key got one back for Park, beating Abby Schue high side with 13 minutes to go.
Schue would be forced to make one more key save, her third overall, while Grace melted the clock on the frozen pitch. It will be much warmer the next time the ladies lace ’em up, heading to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama, mere minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.
“This is not the picture any of us had in our head,” Voss said of the scenario. “Praise the Lord that we are here. You know, there are 16 teams left and we are one of them. We live another day.”
Grace (16-2-3) will face Westmont, Calif. (15-3-2) Monday, Nov. 30, at 1:30 p.m. in the Sweet 16. Continuation would have Grace playing Wednesday, Friday and the championship set for Saturday.
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