HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne men's soccer team dominated the Wingate Bulldogs in nearly every facet of the game on Sunday, except the score. Despite out-shooting Wingate 41-10, the Bears managed just one goal and ended the game in a 1-1 draw.
This game was called with 1:02 remaining in the contest due to the SAC's weather delay policy.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 1, Wingate 1
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (0-4-3, 0-1-2 SAC), Wingate (3-2-1, 0-1-1 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Moretz Sports Athletic Complex
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- Lenoir-Rhyne got a break early in the match when Wingate's Hipo Delhaes was given a straight red card for a late tackle in the 18th minute.
- Despite out-shooting the Bulldogs 20-3 in the first half, it was Wingate who got on the board with a header off a free kick.
- Wingate went into the break leading 1-0.
- The Bears pushed early in the second, putting up six shots in the first 10 minutes, forcing four saves.
- Hector Taboada finally broke through in the 59th minute for the Bears, tapping in a pass from Maxime Wester to tie the game.
- Lenoir-Rhyne peppered Wingate's Cole Freeman with 21 second half shots, but Freeman saved eight.
- With 1:02 remaining in the contest, lightning forced a delay which eventually ended the game.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Lenoir-Rhyne won the shots battle 41-10 and held a 16-5 edge in shots-on-goal.
- The Bears had 12 corner kicks in the contest.
- There were 10 cards in this contest, nine yellows and one red.
- Xairo Villalon and Hector Taboada led the Bears with 10 shots each.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lenoir-Rhyne's 41 shots are the third most in NCAA Division II this year.
- Wingate leads the all-time series 31-20-5.
- The last tie between these two teams was in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, a 1-1 draw that saw Wingate advance 3-0 on penalty kicks.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne has a tough task ahead of them as they host a hungry Emory & Henry side on Wednesday. The Wasps haven't won since defeating Florida Tech in their season opener, falling to Rollins and posting a draw in their next five games. Most recently they played Catawba to a 0-0 draw yesterday afternoon. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Hickory.
