HICKORY, N.C. - After 110 of scoreless action, fourth-seeded Anderson University men's soccer suffered a 4-3 defeat in penalty kicks to fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne, ending its season in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Tuesday evening at the Mortez Sports - Athletic Complex.
The draw mark AU's first of the season, as it ends its 2014 campaign with an 8-9-1 overall record. The Bears, who defeated the Trojans in double overtime, 2-1, on Oct. 10, advance to the SAC Tournament semifinals where they will square off against top-seeded Wingate in Rock Hill, S.C. on Friday.
Anderson tallied 15 shots for the evening, but just two troubled Lenoir-Rhyne goalkeeper Jorge Hernandez. Leading the Trojan offense was freshman midfielder Magnus Larsen with six shots, while teammate Andres Lozano tallied three as the pair split the team's shots on goal. Senior Mattias Schyberg, junior Andre Carle and sophomore Aaron Roberson each recorded a pair of shots for the evening.
The Trojans created the most chances in the second half and in both overtime periods with 12 shots in the final 65 minutes, compared to L-R's nine.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Bo Haug closes the year with his sixth clean sheet, as the Stuttgart, Germany native made two saves in the draw. His counterpart, Hernandez, matched Haug's effort making two saves.
After the scoreless second overtime period, the teams went into penalty kicks; marking the first time since 2012 AU has participated in a match that needed penalty kicks. In that season, the Trojans knocked off Mars Hill in the SAC Semifinals, 3-2.
In the opening round, Anderson's Alex Delpy matched Leon Mueller-Wiesen's goal, pushing the score to 1-1. Lenoir-Rhyne's Raffaelle Di Puorto began the second round and missed his chance to Haug. Following the miss, Larsen connected, giving AU a 2-1 advantage after two rounds.
L-R's Christoffer Ohlsson, who did not play in the match, evened the score at 2-2 to begin the third round. Following an Anderson miss to close the third round, Bear Jack Martin gave the home side the lead once more at 3-2.
Needing a goal to stay alive, Schyberg scored to close out the fourth round. Following the Schyberg goal, DeJean Charlton fired a shot past Haug for the eventual tournament-advancing goal. The Trojans misfired on their last chance, as the Bears moved on to the semifinals for the first time since 2011.
Despite the draw, Anderson holds a 10-1-2 all-time in the SAC Tournament since joining the league before the 2010 season. AU's lone setback came in their fourth straight conference tournament championship appearance.
