Hickory, N.C. ? The Lenoir-Rhyne University Men?s Soccer Team (8-6-3, 4-2-2) ended a two-game skid on Saturday as it bested Tusculum College (8-6-1, 4-4), 5-0, to conclude the 2009 regular season and to secure a fourth-place finish in the final South Atlantic Conference standings.
Junior Dave Bailey (Bath, ENGLAND) scored his second hat trick of the 2009 campaign and junior midfielder John Ferguson (Fife, SCOTLAND) scored twice to lead L-R in the 5-0 shutout victory.? With the hat trick, Bailey finishes the regular season with a team-high 15 goals.
Rain-soaked conditions favored the Bear?s physical style from the outset as they opened the scoring deep into the first frame after sustained offensive pressure.? At 32:13, Bailey took a pass from freshman Oriol Cortes (Barcelona, SPAIN) and slipped the ball past the Tusculum goalkeeper to give L-R the 1-0 lead.
Just over ten minutes later at 43:21, freshman midfielder Oliver Worth (Sheffield, ENGLAND) slid Ferguson a ball behind the Tusculum defense and Ferguson one-touched the ball into the bottom left corner for the 2-0 L-R advantage entering the break.
L-R kept its momentum when Bailey buried a corner kick from senior midfielder Gary Higgins (Paisley, SCOTLAND) in the 53rd minute to make the score 3-0.
Bailey capped his hat trick at 61:37 when he headed home a throw in from junior Martin Graham (Bath, ENGLAND) that was flicked on by sophomore midfielder Brendan Howard (Tampa, Fla.) to make it 4-0.
Ferguson finished up the scoring moments later at 62:34 as he lunged to knock in his own rebound following a save from Tusculum freshman goalkeeper Andy Goellner (Denver, Colo.) giving the Bears a 5-0 advantage.
L-R held an 18-13 advantage in shots over Tusculum.
Senior goalkeeper Francisco Banuelos (Guadalajara, MEXICO) made three saves to earn the victory and the shutout for the Bears while senior Lance Moore (Morristown, Tenn.) made two saves in 63 minutes of action in the loss for Tusculum.
The two teams will meet again this Tuesday as No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the First Round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.? The game will be played at the Moretz Sports ? Athletic Complex in Hickory, N.C., with a kickoff time to be announced.
