PULASKI, Tenn. - No. 18 Grace's women's soccer team was eliminated in the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championships on Thursday.

The Lady Lancers fell 4-1 to No. 25 Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) in a neutral-field contest at Tennessee-Southern.

The loss removes Grace's pursuit of an NAIA crown, but the Lady Lancers have more postseason remaining. Grace will await its fate in the NCCAA National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla., beginning Nov. 29.

The majority of the scoring occurred in the first half on Thursday. Grace appeared to strike first in the opening minute of the match.

The Bees fouled Grace just seconds into the contest, setting up a long free kick. The Lady Lancers found the back of the net on the ensuing free kick, but the line judge viewed Grace to be in an offside position.

In a cruel twist of fate, the Bees scored the opening goal 40 seconds later. SCAD raced down the field with Grace's formation in shambles, placing a long shot beneath the crossbar for a stunning 1-0 lead.

Grace responded admirably and slowly began creating offensive chances. Danae Moriarty was particularly effective on the left side of the field and eventually generated the equalizer.

In the 28th minute, Moriarty blew by a defender and lofted a cross into the penalty box. Madison Tuma headed in the cross to level the score at 1-1.

But the Bees were not done scoring. SCAD scored twice before the intermission, shocking Grace with a 3-1 lead at halftime.

The second half was a much more complete performance for Grace, but the damage had already been done.

The Lady Lancers outshot SCAD 9-7 after halftime with five of those shots being on goal. But Grace was unable to puncture the back of the net despite those chances.

To make matters worse for Grace, the Bees tacked on an insurance goal in the 50th minute.

The Lady Lancers continued to battle until the end. Over the final 22 minutes of the game, Grace shot five times and had a corner kick. But the Bees did not surrender another goal to advance to the second round of the tournament.

JJ Aalbue led the team with six shots, and Moriarty and Lea Moessinger each shot twice.

Grace will likely find out its NCCAA fate in the coming days. It would mark Grace's ninth trip to the tournament since 2009.