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Kissimee, FL – Though they did not end up making the NCCAA DII Championship Game, the Grace Christian University men's soccer team ended a memorable season Thursday night with an impressive 5-1 victory over #6 seed Manhattan Christian College. 

The Tigers played inspired from start to finish, wanting to honor teammate Aiden Kroll and his 16 year old brother Keaton who died unexpectedly this past Saturday.  The Grace players each wore the number 18 and the initials KAK on their wrist to signify who they were playing for.

A goal on a rebound from Brett Arnold would start things off for the Tigers, and Franklin Rodriguez-Arias would come in and provide an immediate spark with a beautiful header that found the back of the net to put the Tigers up 2-0.  After the Tigers went into the halftime break with a 2-0 advantage, a hand in the box would award Manhattan a PK, which they put in to trim the lead to 2-1.  A subsequent PK from Grace's Zak TerMeer would give the Tigers a two-goal cushion once again, and from there on out it was all Tigers.  Kendall Nieuwenhuis joined the fun with a header into the back of the net and Johann Vega capped things off with the fifth goal after receiving a beautiful through ball from TerMeer.

The Tigers finish their 2019 campaign with a 16-5 record and their second Top-4 finish in the Nation in school history.

Congratulations to Tiger center back Dylan DeVries, who was named to the 2019 NCCAA DII All-Tournament Team.