WYOMING, Mich. -- The Sabercats chose their moments today, taking a 3-1 win over Grace Christian University to complete the regular-season double over the Tigers this afternoon at Velting Field.

Amelia Schroeder, Faith Dargy, and Jocelyn Metcalf all scored for Maranatha, who has now won 5 of their last 6 games in the 2024 season. Maranatha is now 2-1-0 in NCCAA Midwest Region play this season.

OVERVIEW

• Result: (RV) Maranatha 3-1 Grace Christian
• Venue: Velting Field, Grace Christian University
• Location: Wyoming, Mich.
• Attendance: 109
• Record: MBU (5-3-0), GCU (2-8-0) 

STORY
The first half was back and forth, with the Tigers looking to be the more menacing. The hosts pegged the crossbar twice in a row midway through the half, as their warning shots were denied by the frame of the goal to keep the game scoreless. At the other end of the field, the Sabercats had their breakthrough moment just three minutes before halftime, when Isabella Byers headed a pass into the path of Amelia Schroeder inside the Tigers' penalty area. Schroeder made no mistake with her trusty left foot, as she fired a shot from 15 yards away into the top corner for an unstoppable opener. 

Going into halftime, the Sabercats had the 1-0 lead.

The lead quickly jumped to two, when Faith Dargy collected an errant goal kick from the Tigers, dribbled into the box, and smashed a shot off the crossbar and in to give the Sabercats a 2-0 lead with authority.

The hosts pulled a goal back in the 65th minute, but Jocelyn Metcalf answered just 7 minutes afterwards. Megan Prigge provided the assist with a nice through ball to the left sie of the Tigers' penalty area, where Metcalf met it with a thumping shot that grazed the inside of the near post on its way in. Metcalf had her moment, and the Sabercats had the two-goal lead restored just when the Tigers were beginning to prowl.

The Sabercats ultimately closed out the game without sustaining any more damage. The Tigers created a couple of quality opportunities late in the game but the Sabercats kept the hosts off the scoresheet for the remainder of the match to seal their fifth win of the season.

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Maranatha Starters: 0- Dodd, 4- Wilson, 5- Graham (C), 7- Smith, 8- Bishop, 9- Prigge (C), 10- Byers, 11- Schroeder, 13- Schmidt (C), 14- Dargy, 20- Herrera

STATS

• Shot Count: Maranatha 14-17 Grace Christian
• Metcalf: second career goal
• Dargy: now co-leads the team with four goals on the year
• Byers: first collegiate assist
• Schroeder: 14th career goal
• Last time: Maranatha won 1-0 in Watertown last Saturday
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Grace Christian 12-5-2

OPPONENTS

• Grace Christian competes with the Sabercats for the NCCAA Midwest Region

NEXT

The Sabercats host Eureka College on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.