HICKORY, N.C. - It was
Hector Taboada's day on Saturday, as he recorded Lenoir-Rhyne's first hat trick since 2021 in a 3-0 Lenoir-Rhyne win over Carson-Newman.
The Bears have now won four straight, outscoring their opponents 9-0 during that time.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Carson-Newman 0
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (5-4-2, 4-2-2 SAC), Carson-Newman (1-7-3, 1-4-1 SAC)
Location: Jefferson City, TN | McCown Field
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Hector Taboada put the Bears up early, scoring goals in the 10th and 11th minutes, both of which were assisted by Daniel Martinez.
- Tomas Fontes made two saves in the first half to keep the shutout alive going into the break.
- Taboada finished off his hat trick in the 77th minute, powering the ball in after Carson-Newman's goalie saved an Oskar Dahlberg shot.
- Things got slightly chippy late, with four yellows given in the final 15 minutes.
- The teams were tied with 10 shots each, with LR holding a 5-4 lead in shots-on-goal.
- Fontes made four saves to preserve his fifth shutout.
- Both teams finished with 13 fouls.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The Bears have won five of the last seven games against the Eagles and haven't lost since 2017.
- Lenoir-Rhyne's last hat trick was by Noah Tiefel on September 25, 2021, against Anderson.
- All five of Lenoir-Rhyne's wins have come via shutout.
- The Bears now sit at second in the SAC with 14 points.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne takes an 11 day break before the travel to Florence, South Carolina, on Oct. 29th to take on Francis Marion in a non-conference battle. The Patriots are 6-3-3 (6-1-2 Conference Carolinas) and won 2-1 over Ferrum earlier tonight. Kickoff for that game is set for 7:00 p.m.