GAFFNEY, S.C. - After being selected to the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight edition, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Soccer Team prepares for a first-round contest against the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Champion Clayton State Lakers. 

LR has earned the No. 9 seed in Super Region Two and will compete against No. 8 seed Clayton State in a "play-in" contest to determine which program faces the No. 1 seeded Limestone Saints. 

In his first season as the program's head coach, Carlos Rubio led the Bears to a 7-5-5 overall record and a conference mark of 6-2-3. Despite a rocky start to conference play with only five points in the first five matches, Rubio and the Bears turned their season around at the right time. 

Following their 2-0 defeat to Wingate on Sept. 30, the Bears went on a 39-day streak without losing a contest and closed out the conference regular season slate with four-straight victories and a spot in the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament. 

LR was led by its four all-conference selections including First Team All-SAC Defender Ivan Rubio. The graduate student recorded the second most points on the team in the regular season with eight, thanks to his three goals and two assists. 

Speaking of production, LR's two Second Team All-SAC selections Adrian Martina and Harri Rowe filled up the stat sheet for the Bears this season.  

Martina, the Avila, Spain native, produced the first 20-point season for the program since 2018 with a 21-point campaign by accumulating eight goals and five assists. Meanwhile, Rowe leads the team with six assists and scored the game-winning goal in the SAC Quarterfinal Match against Catawba on Nov. 5. 

Lastly for Oliver Gardner, the Third Team All-SAC selection and team captain leads the team with 1516 minutes on the pitch. The Braunton, England native is one of the two Bears who has started in every match this season and has 16 90-minute performances. 

Meanwhile, Clayton State enters the NCAA Tournament with one of the most impressive seasons across Division II by winning the Peach Belt Regular Season and Tournament Championship. 

In addition to their 15-3 overall record, the Lakers went 8-2 in league play to finish on top of the Peach Belt standings with 24 points. After securing the top seed in the tournament, the Lakers hosted their semifinal and championship matches in Morrow, Ga.  

Clayton State made sure to take advantage of its home pitch with a 4-1 win over Flagler in the semifinals and a 4-2 double overtime victory over Lander in the championship match. 

The Lakers are led by the Peach Belt Coach of the Year Pete Petersen, who is in 19th year with the program. This year's selection is the sixth time that Petersen has earned the honor, extending his Peach Belt record with most coach of the year awards. 

Clayton State has also produced the Offensive Player of the Year Geo Rios and Co-Defensive Player of the Year Christian Ransome. Rios has now won the award for three straight campaigns, which the most in the Peach Belt Conference since 1995. The graduate student recorded double figure stats in goals (10) and assists (12) for a 32-point season.  

For Ransome, he becomes the first ever Laker to receive the honor. The graduate student helped the Lakers produce Peach Belt-bests with a 1.07 goals against average and six shutouts. 

In total, the Lakers ended with seven all-conference selections with four members making the first team and three student-athletes being placed on the second team. 

Kickoff for the NCAA First Round Match is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. from Gaffney, S.C. The contest will be broadcast live on Flo Sports. For tickets, make sure to visit the Limestone Saints website. In addition, live stats will be supported on lrbears.com. 

WATCH ($): https://www.flofc.com/live/89539
TICKETS: https://golimestonesaints.com/sports/2021/6/24/limestone-university-tickets.aspx
LIVE STATS: https://golimestonesaints.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary