HUNTINGTON – An acrobatic bicycle-kick goal from Dominic Harris was not enough to save the Grace College men’s soccer team from defeat on Saturday night.

The Lancers (7-4, 2-1 Crossroads League) suffered their first loss of the league season, falling to Huntington 2-1 on the road.

Grace outshot the Foresters (6-5-1, 1-2 CL) 26-15 in the match, but Huntington made their shots count.

The opening half was scoreless despite a combined 16 shot attempts. The Lancers tried 11 shots in the first 45 minutes, but none found the back of the net. Grace also had a commanding 8-2 advantage in corner kicks, but each attempt went for naught.

Huntington pulled ahead less than 10 minutes into the second half, taking a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute.

In the 72nd minute, Grace was whistled for a foul in the penalty box. Huntington converted the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead.

The Lancers did their best to battle back. Grace took 15 shots in the second half, including eight on frame. Grace thought it had earned a PK of its own, but the Lancers’ penalty appeals were denied.

The breakthrough came too late for Grace. Dominic Harris trapped a high headed ball near the top of the box. After sensing some space, he attempted a bicycle kick. The ball looped high over the outstretched arms of the Foresters’ goalkeeper and into the back of the net at the 85th minute.

Harris’s magical moment proved to be too late, however. Grace was unable to find an equalizer before the final buzzer.

Grace had 11 more shots than Huntington in the match and also had eight more corner kicks. Harris had six shots to lead all players, and Kyle Hamlin and Nakilee Weni took three shots apiece.

“We had an opportunity to stay at the top of the conference, and we fell short. It’s not the end of the world, but we did miss a chance to prove some important things to ourselves. I felt like we controlled the game, but we fell short in the most important statistics. We need to regroup and refocus attention to the next match,” said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. “The officials had a major impact on this match. The PK call against us was questionable, and he also waived off what seemed to be an obvious PK for us against Damon.”

The Lancers welcome No. 24 Spring Arbor to Miller Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.