WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's Men's soccer team fell to No. 2 Indiana Tech in an instant classic on Wednesday night.
The Lancers (2-3-3) struck first in the second half but were unable to withstand the Warriors late onslaught as they fell 2-1 after a pair of late goals.
Grace did not look intimidated in the early stages of the matchup, going toe-to-toe with top ranked Indiana Tech (7-1-1). The Lancers had a corner kick chance and a shot from
Cihan Acik in the first minutes of the game.
The Warriors defended with a physical effort and had seven fouls whistled against them in the first twenty minutes of play and were also given a yellow card in the 18th minute.
Indiana Tech began to get their offense connecting around the middle of the half and had three corner kick opportunities in quick succession.
Despite the few shots that were actually tried in the half, both teams used quick counter attack builds to create numerous scoring opportunities. Both the Lancers' and the Warriors' defense stood firm in their own end and routinely blocked shooting lanes.
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Josh Cruz had the best chance of the half in the 35th minute with a shot that sliced towards the bottom corner of the net but Indiana Tech's keeper made the diving save to keep the game level entering the intermission.
At the half Grace was out shooting Indiana Tech 4-1. The Warriors had eight fouls compared to Grace's five.
In the second half the physical play continued which led to the first goal of the game. Grace was building an attack and worked the ball deep into the attacking third when Indiana Tech fouled in the box.
Mateus Pereira was chosen to take the kick and blasted his ensuing try into the net to give the Lancers the 1-0 lead.
After the goal Grace continued to carry possession and the Warriors were awarded two  more yellow cards. The Lancers then narrowly missed doubling their lead when
Felix Voigt tried a crossing shot that beat the keeper but just slid past the far goal post.
The Warriors scored just three minutes later with an acrobatic play to level the game at a goal apiece.
The Lancers seemed undeterred however as they continued to press.
Martim Alpoim and Cruz both had dangerous chances and
Teague Misner had a point blank shot that sailed just over the crossbar.
After the Grace chances, Indiana tech again took advantage on the counter attack and scored a long range goal to jump into the lead with just 13:16 left in the game.
Alpoim had two more shots and Cruz had one last effort to try and draw the game even but the Warriors escaped the upset bid and took the game 2-1.
Grace finished the game with a wide 13-5 edge in shots while Indiana Tech had two more corner kicks.
The Lancers will return to action on Wednesday when they kickoff Crossroads League play against St. Francis.
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