MARION, Ind. – Grace's men's soccer team could not take advantage of a red card on No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan, falling 3-1 on Saturday night.

The Lancers (5-3, 0-1 Crossroads League) outshot the Wildcats (7-1, 1-0 CL) 11-8 in the match, including 5-2 in the first half. The 15th-ranked Wildcats broke a 1-1 deadlock with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation to sneak away with a 3-1 win.

"We played a great first half, and I really thought we had the upper hand. When IWU lost a man early in the second half, it automatically created a psychological problem for us," said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. "Sometimes it sharpens the team that is down a man, and the team that is up a man loses efficiency. We clearly lost efficiency and gave up a great opportunity to produce a win."

Grace fell behind 1-0 in the 20th minute, but the Lancers rallied quickly. Within 10 minutes, Grace had found the equalizer from Jon Christensen thanks to an assist by Austin Altimus at the 26:40 mark.

Three minutes into the second half, IWU's Dylan Bronkema picked up his second yellow card to prevent a fastbreak chance for Grace. As a result, the Wildcats played nearly the entire second period with only 10 players.

The Lancers were unable to capitalize on their advantage, however, as both teams were credited with six shots over the final 45 minutes.

Indiana Wesleyan turned up its offense in the final minutes, picking up two goals in rapid succession over the last 4:43 of regulation to stun the Lancers.

"This is a good yet painful lesson for us early in conference play," Hotchkin continued. "All is not lost. We have a good team, and I'm confident we can still accomplish great things in the Crossroads League."

Trent Smith led Grace in attempts with four shots, and Danilo Carnelos and Hector Torres added two apiece.

Grace will look to rebound next week with a pair of home matches. The Lancers host St. Francis on Wednesday 7 p.m., and Grace will also host Huntington next Saturday 2 p.m. as part of the college's Homecoming festivities.