GOSHEN – The Grace College men’s soccer team suffered its first Crossroads League defeat of the season at the hands of Goshen College on Saturday.

The Lancers missed a penalty kick in a 1-0 defeat on the road. The physical match included six yellow cards and 28 fouls (17 against Goshen).

The squads combined for just 12 total shots with Grace and Goshen tallying six shots apiece.

The Lancers (5-3-1; 1-1-1 CL) recorded four shots in the first period. Their strongest look came off a corner kick, which Kyle Hamlin headed a few feet above the crossbar midway through the half.

The Maple Leafs (3-8; 1-3 CL) scored the game’s only goal with less than six minutes remaining in the first half.

Grace had a golden opportunity to equalize when the Lancers were fouled in the penalty box 15 minutes into the second half, but Goshen’s Dean Nafziger saved Steven Fiema’s penalty kick to keep the Lancers scoreless.

As the game continued into the second half, play became increasingly physical as the official handed out four yellow cards after halftime. Grace only managed to take two shot attempts with one corner kick in the second half. Neither team recorded a shot over the final 13 minutes of play.

“This was a poor performance on our part tonight. We didn’t bring the right effort into the match, and that’s the main thing that cost us,” said head coach Matt Hotchkin. “This was a poor effort from a handful of guys. When this was addressed at halftime, some effort was put in. But unorganized effort with little team movement resulted in little quality offense.”

Gift Sibukome and Hamlin paced Grace’s offense with two shots. Travis Kirkland made three saves in yielding one goal as the team’s goalkeeper.

The Lancers will hope to rebound on Tuesday when they host Marian at 4 p.m.