MARS HILL, N.C. - A three-goal second half for Mars Hill proved too difficult for the Bears to overcome as Lenoir-Rhyne fell 4-0 to the Lions on Wednesday night.
Thanks to a Wingate victory over Newberry, Lenoir-Rhyne will qualify for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Bears and Bulldogs were both tied with eight points in the SAC and tied 1-1 in the regular season. The Bears earned a spot in the tournament due to their 2-0 victory over Anderson, a team Wingate tied 2-2.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Mars Hill 4, Lenoir-Rhyne 0
Records: Mars Hill (8-6-3, 4-5-1 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (2-9-3, 2-6-2 SAC)
Location: Mars Hill, N.C. | Meares Stadium
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- Lenoir-Rhyne started out on the offensive, out-shooting Mars Hill 5-1 over the first 22 minutes of action.
- The Lions broke the scoreless draw in the 39th minute with a goal from Kai Stolp.
- Mars Hill doubled the lead on their first shot of the second half, also by Stolp.
- Two more late goals by the Lions gave the game its final score.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- The teams tied with 11 shots each, with Mars Hill leading 6-5 in shots-on-goal.
- Lenoir-Rhyne led 10-5 in corner kicks.
- There were six yellow cards in this contest, five to Mars Hill and one to Lenoir-Rhyne.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This series is tied 21-21-4 all-time.
- The Bears have won just one of the last six meetings with the Lions, a 3-0 victory last year.
- This will be Lenoir-Rhyne's seventh consecutive South Atlantic Conference Tournament appearance.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne earned the No. 8 seed in the SAC Tournament and will travel to Emory & Henry on Saturday. The Wasps defeated Tusculum today to jump Catawba and win the first SAC Regular Season Title in program history. The Bears and Wasps played once this year, a 4-1 win for Emory & Henry in Hickory. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Emory, Virginia.
