Bristol, Tenn. – The Lenoir-Rhyne University Men’s Soccer Team (1-2) battled hard but fell to King College (4-1), 4-3, Saturday afternoon at Parks Field in Bristol, Tenn.  Lenoir-Rhyne was on the road for the third time during the 2009 campaign and has yet to compete on its home turf, the Moretz Sports – Athletic Complex.

After falling behind by two goals thanks to Tornado scores in the 13th and 14th minutes, the Bears rallied to tie the contest.  Senior midfielder Gary Higgins (Paisley, SCOTLAND) capitalized on a penalty kick at the 32:58 mark and sophomore forward Daniel Jones (Wrexham, WALES) pulled L-R square just over three minutes into the second half.  Junior forward Dave Bailey (Bath, ENGLAND) assisted on the goal.

Bailey put the Bears up, 3-2, in the 63rd minute on an unassisted breakaway but late heroics from the Tornado spoiled the day for L-R.

King equalized on a 30-yard free kick from Tom Winspear then John Simmons netted the game-winner for King in the 88th minute to seal the Tornado victory.

The Bears put 13 of their 17 total shots on frame compared to eight shots on goal for King. 

In the loss for L-R, senior goalkeeper Francisco Banuelos (Guadalajara, MEXICO) had four saves.  Justin Morrell stayed very busy in goal for the Tornado as he had 10 saves in the winning effort.

Lenoir-Rhyne will begin its home season on Wednesday at the Moretz Sports – Athletic Complex as it plays host to North Georgia out of the Peach Belt Conference.  Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m.