By: Scotty Grigsby 

CIU men's soccer took on Grace College in their second contest of the season on Friday night. The Ram's would fall to the Lancers 5-1 after 90 minutes of hard play. 

The first half opened with fast-paced play by both squads. The Lancers would score first in the 20th minute with a goal from forward Ulisses Miranda. Six minutes after goal by Miranda, the Ram's would answer with a score from Marcos Da Paz to draw even with the Lancers. Both squads could not gain an advantage for most of the first half. However, defensive play broke down in the 39th minute with a goal from Lancer forward Johnny Mora. This would be followed by another Lancer goal in the 43rd minute by Felipe Gruber. Thirty-four second later Grace would score their 4th goal of the evening with a kick from Marcelo Talamas. The late 1st half scoring spree would give the Lancers a 3 goal cushion going into the second half. 

The early second half would see the Rams rally on defense and hold the Grace attack at bay. However, in the 53rd minute, the Lancers would be awarded a penalty kick that would result in their 5th goal of the night. Ivan Santagiulian would score on the Grace penalty. For much of the second half, the Rams applied attacking pressure but were met with suffocating Grace defense. A penalty would be given to CIU late in the second half. Marcos Da Paz took the kick but was denied by Grace goalkeeper Gonzalo Salo. The final tally would give Grace the 5-1 victory. 

The Rams look to bounce back at their next game on Saturday, September 7th as they open conference play at Point University.