WYOMING, Mich. -- In their second game in as many days, the Sabercats felt hard done by not to get a better result against No. 3 Grace Christian University, falling 0-1 in a close-cut NCCAA Midwest Region contest.

Pedro Ribeiro forced a couple of flying saves from the Grace goalkeeper in the first half, as the Tigers somehow managed to keep the Sabercats off the scoresheet.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-1 No. 3 Grace Christian
• Venue: Velting Field, Grace Christian University
• Location: Wyoming, Mich.
• Attendance: 119
• Record: MBU (2-2-1), GCU (3-3-1) 

STORY
Both teams traded goal-scoring chances in the opening exchanges. Clayton Miller came closer than anyone, clipping the crossbar with a well-struck shot from 30 yards out.

Soon after, the Sabercats almost got the go-ahead goal, when a long ball from Aaron Jones set up Robbie Lemon for a cross. Lemon delivered an inviting pass to Ribeiro, who smashed a shot towards the corner, but an outstanding dive from Logan Werschem denied the sophomore his moment, and the Sabercats were still scoreless.

The breakthrough came for the Tigers off of a corner kick play, as a half-cleared ball bounced to the feet of Braylon Marshall, who struck a shot through traffic and into the bottom corner. Tigers 1, Sabercats 0.

A few minutes later, Werschem's encore save outshone his first save, as Ribeiro sailed a left-footed shot towards the car upper corner from the top of the box, but Werschem laid out and tipped the shot wide of the goal with his left hand. Somehow, the Sabercats were still scoreless and Grace took a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The second half was a straightforward half of soccer, as neither team had a clear-cut chance to win. Matheus Ribeiro threatened with a couple of long-range shots that curved just wide of the post, but the Sabercats had to settle for a 0-1 defeat in the first matchup of the 2025 season between them and Grace.
--

Maranatha Starters: 1- Shank, 5- Jones (C), 6- Johnson, 7- Lemon, 8- M. Ribeiro, 10- P. Ribeiro, 11- Ca. Beachell, 12- Greene, 13- Donovan, 14- Cl. Beachell, 19- Miller

STATS

• Last time: Grace won 3-0 last season in Grand Rapids
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series 18-13

OPPONENTS

• Grace Christian competes with the Sabercats in the NCCAA Midwest Region
• Grace Christian has held the #3 national ranking in the first of the Top 10 rankings this season
• Grace Christian finished as NCCAA DII National runners-up in 2022

NEXT

The Sabercats stay home for a 4:00 p.m. matchup against Andrews University on Friday. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.