WEST DES MOINES, IA — Graceland scored twice in a five-minute span to close the first half and held off a late Grand View rally, edging the Vikings 3-2 on Wednesday at the MidAmerican Energy RecPlex. The loss snaps Grand View's momentum in Heart of America Athletic Conference play, with the Vikings falling to 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in conference. Graceland improves to 5-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in conference.
The Yellowjackets wasted no time, scoring the first goal just 51 seconds into the match to put Graceland ahead 1-0. Grand View settled in and began generating chances, with shots from Anthony Ulloa and Hayato Yoshitake both sailing high before Luis Helm turned away a Graceland look to keep the deficit at one.
Grand View made a wave of substitutions just before the half-hour mark, and the moves paid off immediately. Kais Sabic leveled the match at 1-1 in the 31st minute, finishing off a feed from Xavier Roy. Graceland answered right back, retaking the lead five minutes later, sending the teams to the break with Graceland up 2-1. Grand View had one more look before halftime, a Herman Furumo shot saved by the Graceland goalkeeper off a corner-kick sequence.
The second half opened quietly before Graceland pushed the lead to two in the 59th minute, making it 3-1 and forcing Grand View to chase the match. The Vikings continued to create chances, with Furumo, Eishu Nishizono, and Rodrigo Carrega all turned away by the Graceland goalkeeper, before Furumo finally broke through in the 71st minute, converting a feed from Lucas Newhard to cut the deficit to 3-2. Grand View pressed for an equalizer in the closing minutes, with late chances from Carrega and Dylan Hunston, but the Graceland defense held on to close out the win.
GAME NOTES
Graceland out-shot Grand View 10-12 in total attempts, with each side registering 7 shots on goal
Saves: Luis Helm (Grand View) 4
The loss drops Grand View to 1-1-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play
UP NEXT
Grand View travels to St. Louis, MO, to take on Missouri Baptist University on Saturday, September 19th, at 7:00 PM in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
