Hickory, N.C.-- The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Soccer team used three second half goals to move on to the SAC semi-finals on Friday night. The Bears will now face off against the #1 seed Anderson Trojans on Friday evening in Matthews, N.C.
Daniel Martinez got the Bears on the board in the 66th minute then less then a minute later
Hector Taboada scored to give LR a 2-0 lead. An own goal in the 76th minute made the final 3-0.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Wingate 0
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (8-4-3) Wingate (3-9-3)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Moretz Sports Athletic Complex
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- The first half was scoreless as there was only one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.
- Daniel Martinez got the Bears on the board with a beautiful free kick from 25 yards that curved to the top left corner.
- Hector Taboada quickly give the Bears a 2-0 lead less then a minute later with a goal from the top of the box.
- In the 76th minute, Taboada crossed one out that Wingate kicked into the goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead.
- Tomas Fontes made a pair of saves in goal for the Bears for his second clean sheet against the Bulldogs this season.
- The Bears dominated the possession and had a 16-3 shot advantage.
- LR also had nine corner kicks in the contest.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- This is the 10th time the two teams have faced off in the SAC Tournament
- Bears are now 24-24-6 in the all-time in the SAC tournament.
- The last three times the Bears won the SAC Tournament Championship, they defeated Wingate on the way to the title.
- Martinez's goal was his seventh career goal.
UP NEXT: The Bears will now head to Matthews on Friday night to face #1 seed Anderson. The Trojans defeated #8 seed Mars Hill 3-0 to advance. Lenoir-Rhyne gave #5 ranked Anderson a run for their money earlier this season with a 1-1 tie. Kick-off for Friday's match is schedule for 5:00 PM.