Hickory, N.C. - Wins in the SAC don't come easy, and the Bears proved that tonight. Facing a Newberry squad that had only given up two goals all season, the Bears picked up a hard-fought 2-1 win on Saturday night. Mya Jarvis broke up a 1-1 second-half tie with her first goal of the season in the 67th minute. 

This win puts the Bears at the top of the conference standings with 12 points.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 2, Newberry 1
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (7-3, 4-1 SAC), Newberry (5-2-1, 1-2 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. I Moretz Sports Athletic Complex

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• The Bears put the pressure on early, taking three shots in the first four minutes of the game.
• Ava Hartman opened up the scoring with her third goal of the season in the 23rd minute.
• There were just three total shots in the final 20 minutes of play and Lenoir-Rhyne went into the break up 1-0.
• Newberry tied things up just 15 minutes into the second half on a solo goal from Natalie Ruiz. 
• Mya Jarvis picked up her first career Lenoir-Rhyne goal seven minutes later, putting the Bears back up one.
• Riley Miller made a few clutch saves late for the Bears to secure the win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Bears have now won five in a row against Newberry and haven't lost in Hickory since a 2-0 defeat in 2017.
• It almost 30 years to the day since these programs first met, with the Bears defeating Newberry 10-1 in their first ever meeting on October 8th, 1995.
• Bears are now four wins away from their program's 400th career victory.
• Newberry had only given up two goals prior to tonight's contest, both in a 2-1 loss to Carson-Newman last week.

UP NEXT: The Bears will have a week off before welcoming Coker to Hickory next Saturday afternoon. Coker is 4-2-3 and 1-1-2 in SAC after their scoreless tie tonight against Emory & Henry. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.