Lancers Stun No. 12 Warriors in Winona Lake Thriller

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's men's soccer team picked up a statement victory as they knocked off No. 12 Indiana Tech 1-0 on Wednesday night.

The Lancers (3-1-2) and the Warriors went toe-to-toe all night in a physical affair that matched the intensity that would be expected of two of the premier NAIA schools squaring off.

Despite entering the game just outside the top 25 coaches' poll themselves, the Lancers have been no stranger to showing down with top ranked opponents, as Indiana Tech (3-2-1) was the fourth team that the Lancers have faced this season that were ranked.

Grace, showing the maturity of a team that has been battle tested, came out with controlled aggression in the first half as they kept the ball in their attacking third for much of the first half.

The Warriors had all four of their shots come within the first  20 minutes of play and only one made its way on target where it was saved by Pedro Galante who acrobatically redirected a hard shot that then chipped up and deflected off the crossbar.

After the near miss the Warriors were hemmed into their half of the field as the Lancers began to rack up quality chances.

Luis Munoz and Maxime Bregeon each had multiple shots, but the Warriors keeper saved each chance on frame as the game entered the intermission tied at zero.

Grace had nine first half shots compared to the Warriors four. The Lancers had one more corner kick and the Warriors were whistled for five more fouls.

It wasn't long into the second half when Grace finally broke the deadlock and edged ahead of the 12th ranked team.

The Lancers took full advantage of a turnover deep in the Warriors side of the field and quickly jumped onto the counter attack. Bregeon made a nifty one-touch pass to Juan Garcia who played a low crossing ball into the box where Joao Laranjo was waiting to blast it into the net for what proved to be the night's only goal.

Grace continued to press on offense in the immediate aftermath as Sebastian Lozano and Garcia each had tries towards goal.

The physicality picked up late in the game as five yellow cards were awarded in the second half of the game.

The Lancers nearly doubled their lead on numerous occasions but were unable to find the insurance marker.

Grace's defense was stifling though, as they only allowed one shot over the final 22 minutes of the game even as the Warriors desperately sought the equalizer.

Galante made four total saves in the shutout victory for Grace as the Lancers held on for the 1-0 win. Grace out shot the Warriors 19-8 and were whistled for three fewer fouls.

Grace will be back in action on Saturday at 5 p.m. as they host Trinity Christian.