Hickory, NC- A day after the Bears entered the Southeast Region Poll as the #10 team in the region, they found themselves in an early hole against Mars Hill on Wednesday night. Less than two minutes in the game, the Lions had a breakaway and Walker Henderson capitalized for an early goal. The Lions led 1-0 until the second half when
Javier Madrono found the back of the net five minutes into the second stanza. The game remained tied until
Victor Cascon took advantage of a mental error by the MHU goalkeeper and passed it to
Eric Miller for the game-winning goal. Cascon then added an insurance goal one minute later to extend the lead to 3-1.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Mars Hill 1
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (3-2, 1-0 SAC), Mars Hill (1-2-1, 0-1 SAC)
Location: Moretz Sports Athletic Complex | Hickory, N.C.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Entering tonight's game, Mars Hill averaged 18.67 shots per game, which is good for 9th in Division II. However, the Bears defense held the Lions to five shots.
- Miller's goal was another game-winning goal. It marks back-to-back games with game-winning goals the sophomore, his only two career strikes.
- Madrono, Miller and Cascon all scored their second goal of the season tonight and they are all tied for the team lead.
- Mars Hill's Adnan Saltagic was given a red card in the 66th minute, forcing the Lions to play a man down for the final 23-plus minutes.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Entering tonight's contest, Alexander Langer is 16th in the Nation in goalie's minutes played.
- The Bears are 14th in the Nation in corner kicks per game at 7.75.
- With the win tonight, the Bears even the all-time series with the Lions at 18-18-3.
- The Bears have now won 4 out of the last 5 with the Lions. MHU's only win in that stretch came in a 2-1 victory last year.
UP NEXT: Bears will look to move to 2-0 in conference play with a Saturday afternoon clash vs Tusculum at 3:30.
