Miscues doom Grace against No. 12 Grizzlies
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – A sputtering start spelled defeat for Grace’s men’s soccer on Thursday against No. 12 Georgia Gwinnett.
The Lancers (1-1) owned a shot advantage overall in the match, but early mistakes resulted in a 3-0 loss at 1st Source Bank Field.
For the match, Grace held a 10-7 advantage in shot attempts. The Lancers were even better in the second half with an 8-3 edge in shots.
The match could not have started any worse for the Lancers. Grace made two defensive errors in its half of the field, and the Grizzlies (1-0) capitalized both times for goals.
Before 10 minutes had expired, the Lancers faced a 2-0 deficit.
The rest of the half was evenly played with each side building up possession. Grace struggled to penetrate Georgia Gwinnett’s defense, however.
The Lancers dug themselves into a deeper hole by surrendering a third goal in the 30th minute on a quick attack.
Grace changed its personnel midway into the half, and the newcomers seemed to inject life into the attack. Jordan Jayapuram, Felipe Gruber and Ze Maria Goncalves sparked the offense as substitutes.
Goncalves had Grace’s best attempt of the half, firing a 20-yard rocket that forced a diving save.
The Lancers entered halftime behind 3-0 despite holding the Grizzlies to just four shot attempts.
The second half was another midfield battle; neither team tried a shot for the first 12 minutes.
The first shot of the half was a dangerous one by Grace. Marcelo Talamas took on a defender during a counter and created space, but his shot was saved.
The Lancers seemed to get better as the game went on, building up consistently dangerous attacks.
Cody Boerema, Jonny Mora and Talamas moved the ball into key positions but struggled to find the finishing touch.
One of Grace’s best moments resulted in an attempt by Gruber, but his hard shot ended in a reflex save by the Grizzlies’ goalkeeper.
Mora and Jayapuram tried shots mere seconds apart, but again the Grizzlies’ defense stood firm.
The Grizzlies’ goalkeeper Matija Gligorovic produced five saves to keep Grace off the scoreboard and record the shutout.
Gonzalo Salo played the final 45 minutes in goal for Grace and made a pair of saves.
Goncalves, Talamas and Mora each shot twice to lead Grace.
The Lancers face another ranked opponent next, traveling to No. 25 Southeastern (Fla.) on Wednesday.