WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's men's soccer team picked up a win in their first taste of Crossroads League action.

The Lancers (7-1-2, 1-0-0 CL) bested Saint Francis 1-0 on Wednesday courtesy of a late second half goal. The win extended Grace's winning streak to six games.

With three of the other four conference games ending in draws, the Lancers are tied with Marian for first place in the Crossroads League with three points.

The field was quickly slanted in Wednesday night's contest. The Lancers were the clear aggressors as USF (2-7-1, 0-1-0 CL) seemed content to play a patient defensive style.

Mateus Pereira nearly put Grace on the board in the opening minute with a shot that rattled off the goal post. Tyler Casado and Teague Misner also had chances early in the game, but both of their attempts trailed off target.

Pedro Galante, who got the start in goal for Grace, nullified a quick counter attack from the Cougars and immediately the Lancers were back on the attack.

Grace had two corner kicks in quick succession as they began to pepper shots towards goal.

With 14 minutes left in the half the Lancers would hit the woodwork again as Sebastion Lozano headed a ball on goal. It redirected straight down off the crossbar and miraculously bounced away from the open goal mouth as the game remained scoreless.

Luis Munoz also came within a whisper of breaking the deadlock when his redirected shot was just saved by the outstretched hand of the flailing keeper.

The Lancers added two more shots late in the half but the game entered the halftime intermission tied at zero.

The Lancers out shot the Cougars 13-2 and had a 9-0 edge in corner kicks.

Early in the second half Galante made two saves in close order before Grace again dominated possession. The Lancers had eight unanswered shots but most of their attempts flew harmlessly by goal.

With just over 12 minutes left in the game the Cougars were whistled for a foul just outside the 18-yard box, putting the Lancers in prime position for a set piece.

Diego Yanes took the kick for the Lancers and blasted his attempt past the USF defenders to give the Lancers the 1-0 advantage.

Despite having the lead late in the game, Grace still enjoyed the majority of possession and Galante easily saved the last minute attempt on goal as the Lancers held on for the 1-0 win.

Grace had a 24-5 lead in shots and a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Lancers also enjoyed a vast lead in time of possession, being clocked with the ball for 64 percent of the match.

Grace will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Huntington to take on the Foresters at 2 p.m.