LAKELAND, Fla. – Grace College's men's soccer team nearly pulled off a marquee upset, falling 2-1 to No. 7 St. Thomas in overtime on Thursday.
Felipe Gruber put the Lancers ahead early, but Grace surrendered an equalizer late.
From the opening kickoff the Bobcats (1-0) looked the part of a top-10 team. The Lancers were hemmed into their defensive end as St. Thomas had three shots and two corners in the opening 12 minutes.
After withstanding the early onslaught, the Lancers earned their first offensive chance. Ze Maria Goncalves managed to gain a corner kick for Grace, which paid off with an opening goal.
Frederik Christmann sent a beautiful cross into the box that was tactfully headed into the net by Gruber to give the Lancers a 1-0 advantage in the 14th minute.
Ten minutes after their first goal, the Lancers came close to doubling their lead. Taking advantage of a long pass on the counter attack, Gruber sent a through pass that found a streaking Martim Cardoso. Cardoso was just denied his fifth goal of the season by a sliding defender.
Matteo Conci was tested often in the first half, but his best effort came after a Bobcat player found space on the left side of the box. A shot forced a leaping save from Conci to keep the Grace advantage at 1-0.
Grace was tested one more time before the close of the first half but did not surrender a goal.
The Lancers held a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. Conci made four saves in the opening half. Grace's only shot on goal during the half was Gruber's headed goal.
Just two minutes into the second half, Grace nearly struck again. A misplayed ball from the Bobcats' defense allowed Jordan Jayapuram to get behind the defense, but his shot was fought off by the STU keeper.
The Lancers began to take control of the pace early in the second half with a pair of opportunities.
Ethan Vigario found an opening and sliced a ball just off the near post. Another Grace scoring opportunity was ended by a dangerous tackle that drew a yellow card.
The game would devolve into a midfield battle as neither team could put together any sustained pressure, and the physical play escalated. The two teams combined for eight yellow cards by the final whistle.
With 20 minutes left in regulation, the Bobcats tried a shot that sailed just over Grace's goal.
Minutes later, Goncalves received the ball 40 yards out from goal with just the keeper to beat. Goncalves made his run at the goal, but his shot was pushed just wide of the net.
In the closing minutes, STU had a final chance to keep the match going. A Bobcat player completed a clever move in the box, slicing in a shot as he fell to the ground to make the score 1-1 with just three minutes remaining.
Neither side could find a goal after the equalizer, sending the game into overtime.
In extra time, it took just 45 seconds for the Bobcats to find a golden goal winner. A shot from the top of the box snuck into the goal, allowing the No. 7-ranked Bobcats to escape with a 2-1 win.
Goncalves and Cardoso each tried two shots. Conci made five saves in goal for Grace.
For the game, the Bobcats held a narrow 12-9 edge in shots. Grace outshot STU 6-4 in the second half.
This contest marked the beginning of a four-game road trip for Grace that will see them play three top-25 opponents. The Lancers will stay in Lakeland, Fla., to play Southeastern on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
