OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Grace College's men's soccer team fell to No. 6 Mid-America Christian 3-2 on Wednesday night.

The 16th ranked Lancers trailed 3-0 late in the second half before the offense came alive. Grace scored two goals in the final 12 minutes of play, but saw the comeback fall just short.

This game marked the first of six consecutive top-25 opponents that Lancers will play.

From the opening whistle Grace forced the pace of play and nearly scored just two minutes into the game. 

Martim Sequeira received the ball at the top of the MACU box, but his right footed shot was blocked by a sprawling Evangel defender and then cleared from danger.

After the early Grace chance, the game settled into a midfield battle with neither squad finding room to mount a sustained offensive attack.

The game would find its first goal at the midpoint of the half, courtesy of the Evangels who scored the opening goal against the run of play. 

MACU used a pair of defensive misplays by Grace to quickly switch direction of play. The well played counter attack left an Evangel forward open in front of goal the shot was placed beyond the reach of Matteo Conci and into the net to give MACU the 1-0 lead.

Grace responded well after the opening marker and as the Lancers dominated the time of possession for the remainder of the first half.

An equalizer was nearly found by Grace with 10-minutes left in the half. Daniel Santos Rosa played a perfectly weighted ball through the box to Sequeira. 

Sequeira had little room to play a shot towards goal and his ensuing shot was directed harmlessly to the MACU keeper as the game remained 1-0.
Grace continued to dictate the pace of play as the half reached its conclusion, but was unable to find the game tying goal as the Lancers entered the intermission trailing by one.

Despite being down one at the half, Grace held a 4-3 shot and a 1-0 corner advantage. The Lancers were whistled for two offsides calls.

The start of the second half was a near perfect reflection of the first as Grace once again threatened just minutes into action.

Santos Rosa played a crossing pass into the box that was just beyond the reach of Sequeira who would have had a near empty net to play the ball into.

MACU threatened to double the Lancers' deficit moments later, but a sliding tackle from Diogo Lopes neutralized the threat.

The Evangels would find their second goal of the match after being awarded a penalty kick and held a 2-0 lead with 24 minutes left in the game. 

Trailing by a pair of goals late in regulation, the Lancers pushed forward to try and cut the lead in half. MACU took full advantage of Grace's aggressive tactics and added another tally to push ahead 3-0.

Two-minutes falling behind by a trio of goals, the Lancers answered back with their first goal of the game. On what appeared to be a routine play for the Evangels keeper, Sequeira used his speed to catch the goalie off guard and steal the ball. The senior then played a low shot towards goal that found its mark and pushed the score to 3-1 with 10 minutes left.

With time winding down the Lancers refused to go away quietly. With 1:41 left the Lancers earned a free kick from 19-yards out. The ensuing set piece was executed to perfection as Juan Garcia sliced a ball into the net to bring Grace back within a goal. 

The final 90 seconds was played at a frantic pace as Grace desperately tried to complete the improbable comeback but the equalizer would not go as the Lancers fell by a final score of 3-2. 

At the final whistle Grace was out shot 12-7 and was whistled for four more fouls. Sequeira led all players with four shots and Conci made three saves.

Grace will be back in action on Saturday vs No. 15 MidAmerican Nazarene, before concluding the three-game road trip against No. 7 Missouri Valley on Monday.