Hickory, N.C. – The No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne University Men's Soccer Team (4-0, 1-0 SAC) hosted its South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday night and survived a tightly-contested affair, 2-1, over Tusculum (0-3-2, 0-2 SAC) at the Moretz Sports - Athletic Complex.
The Bears received goals from junior forward
Ignacio de Goya (Madrid, SPAIN) and freshman midfielder
Victor Cascon (Salamanca, SPAIN) as Lenoir-Rhyne rallied from a 1-0 deficit to remain undefeated on the year.
Tusculum's Oscar Rubio Jimenez (Soria, SPAIN) finished off a shot which hit the post at the 18:21 mark of the first half. The goal was the first the Bears have allowed this season.
De Goya responded with his team-leading third goal of the year while Cascon received a cross from senior forward
Ismael Noumansana (Reims, FRANCE) and scored after streaking down the right side in the 43rd minute which proved to be the match-winner.
The second half remained scoreless while senior goalkeeper
Zach King (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) earned the victory after stopping three shots for the Bears. King bested Tusculum's goalkeeper, Alejandro Quiriti (Mar del Plata, ARGENTINA), who lost despite stopping seven shots. LR held an 18-13 advantage in the win.
Lenoir-Rhyne will hit the road to face Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn., on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., in a league contest. Tusculum, meanwhile, remains on the road for a second-straight match to take on conference-foe Queens on Wednesday beginning at 7:30 p.m., as well.
Keep up with the Bears on the pitch all season by going to lrbears.com and following @BearsSports on Twitter and Instagram.
