BLUEFIELD, Va. – The first goal of Nikola Djordjevic's career produced the first win of the year for Grace's men's soccer team.
The Lancers (1-2) went on the road to beat Bluefield College 1-0 thanks to Djordjevic's goal early in the second half.
Grace put together its most balanced effort of the season, recording 12 shots while holding the Rams (0-2) to four shots on goal.
The first half was evenly played as neither squad found the back of the net. The Rams, coached by Grace alum Chase Neidig, started out sharply on the offensive end and produced four shots and a corner kick over the first 12 minutes of action.
The Lancers balanced play out and finished with six shots and four shots on goal in the first half, but the match remained goalless to the halftime horn.
It did not take long for Grace to break the deadlock in the second half. A well-worked attack from Damon Binkley and Kyle Hamlin resulted in a shot in the box that was saved. The rebound fell to Nakilee Weni whose shot was saved with a diving effort by Bluefield's goalkeeper. On the ensuing corner kick, Hamlin's cross was headed down by Dominic Harris. Nikola Djordjevic then blasted the loose ball just below the crossbar at the 46:05 mark.
Bluefield pressed hard for the equalizer late in the second half, but the strong goalkeeping of Robbie Barnhill kept the Rams scoreless. With just minutes remaining, the Rams thought they had scored an equalizer, but the goal was disallowed due to being offside.
Barnhill made four saves to earn the shutout while tending Grace's net, recording the team's first shutout of the season.
"I was proud of our guys' effort tonight. Bluefield is a pretty good team, and I knew it would be a tough game for us on the road. Coach [Chase] Neidig has done an incredible job recruiting some quality players," said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. "Robbie Barnhill made a couple of clutch saves in the game to get the result for us. We played as a team tonight, and everybody pulled their weight."
Hamlin recorded three shots on goal to lead all players, and Harris added two shots on goal. Overall, Grace held a slight 12-11 advantage in shots, although eight of the Lancers' shots were on goal. Bluefield had more corner kicks (5-3) than Grace.
The Lancers stay in Virginia to play a neutral-site matchup with NCAA Div. III William Peace, hosted at Bluefield's pitch on Thursday at 4 p.m.
