Lancers Cruise to NAIA Round of 16, Patrick Wins 100th Game

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's men's soccer team had a statement win over Briar Cliff in the Second Round of the NAIA Tournament on Saturday evening.

The third-seeded Lancers (15-4-2) scored three first-half goals en route to a 5-0 win. Grace will advance to the NAIA Round of 16 for the first time in program history.

Grace's opponent in the next round will be 14th-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene. The game will take place on Nov. 28, with the start time to be announced by the NAIA.

A trio of milestones were also reached in Grace's second round win.

Grace head coach Arron Patrick earned his 100th career win as a head coach, 60 of them coming at the helm of the Lancers.

Martim Sequeira scored the 52nd goal of his career and his 20th marker of the season. He is just the 11th player in program history to score 20 goals in a season and the first to do so since Elco Harte scored 21 in 1994.

Matteo Conci also tied a program record; he tied Kurt Hamlin for most shutouts in a single season with 11.

After earning a first-round bye, Grace faced off against Briar Cliff who were 1-0 winners in the first round contest on Thursday night.

The Chargers looked ready from the jump and had a shot on goal just minutes into the contest. Conci made the early save for the Lancers who then began to assert their will.

Dan Allen had a pair of chances. Following a corner kick, Sequeira had an attempt slip wide of goal.

Sequeira had another near miss when he headed a shot on net but it was tipped over the crossbar at the last second as Briar Cliff tried to survive the Lancers' onslaught.

The Chargers had a chance to counter after a Lancer turnover in the midfield, but were unable to capitalize as Gavin Morgan, Diogo Lopes and Antonio Lobo formed a formidable final defense.

Sequeira's milestone goal came with 18 minutes left in the first half and put Grace ahead 1-0.

Daniel Santos Rosa made a wide run on goal and crossed into the box. Frederick Christmann got a touch, and Sequiera quickly pounced on the ball and buried his shot for the game's first goal.

Just four minutes would elapse before Grace scored again.

Maxime Bregeon and Sequeira expertly worked the ball through the heart of the Chargers' defense before playing it ahead to freshman Josh Cruz. Cruz chipped it over the goalkeeper's reach to push Grace's lead to two.

Despite leading by a pair of goals, the Lancers didn't relent. Grace had a trio of chances and two corner kicks before scoring again with 3:21 left in the half.

The Lancers' pinpoint passing opened up holes in the Chargers' defense, and this time it was Kyle Holwerda who found himself alone in front of goal. Holwerda blasted a shot into the top corner of the net to push Grace's lead to three goals as the game entered the halftime intermission.

The start of the second half was more subdued than the first with Grace having a firm grasp on the decision.

The Chargers tried a pair of shots on net but were unable to beat Conci.

With 20 minutes left in the game Grace was awarded a goal kick. Conci blasted a kick three-fourths the length of the field to Sequeira who immediately played it to Cruz; the freshman quickly beat the keeper for his second goal of the match. The assist marked the first of Conci's career.

Grace's final tally of the contest came courtesy of Joao Sousa. Fran Martin played the keeper out of position and passed the ball onto Sousa who had a wide open net to score Grace's fifth and final goal of the game.

At the final horn the Lancers held a 15-9 shot advantage. Sequeira led all players with four shots. Conci made five saves in the shutout.