Hickory, N.C. - The top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Soccer Team (14-1-2) shut out eighth-seeded Mars Hill (6-13), 2-0, in the opening round of the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Moretz Sports - Athletic Complex.

L-R will next face the No. 4 seed, Catawba, on Friday in the tournament semifinals at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C., beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Catawba defeated fifth-seeded Anderson, 1-0, in the first round of the tournament?at home in Salisbury, N.C., on Wednesday as well.

Lenoir-Rhyne, ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division II, received second-half goals from sophomore midfielder Lauren Donovan (Hollywood, Md.) and sophomore defender Hanna Kiebel (Parker, Colo.) in the victory.

Donovan opened the scoring after finishing off a shot right in front of the net off a corner kick from freshman defender Brianna Belsky (Egg Harbour Township, N.J.) in the 55th minute.

Kiebel scored the Bears' second goal at the 77:06 mark of the second half just outside the top right corner of the box.? L-R freshman defender Regina Kelly (West Deptford, N.J.) was credited with the assist.

Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Scruggs (Torrance, Calif.) earned the shutout win for the Bears, who held a 31-4 advantage in shots taken and remained unbeaten in their last 13 matches (11-0-2).

Mars Hill's goalkeeper, Chelsea Parker (Richmond, Va.), suffered the loss despite finishing with 12 saves on the day.? The Bears also defeated the Lions for the second time this season.