HICKORY, N.C. – The Anderson University men's soccer team's upset bid at eighth nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne came up short on Wednesday (Sept. 21) by a score of 4-3.
Anderson came into the match with a 1-4-1 record on the season, trying to bounce back after a 3-2 loss over the weekend at Lincoln Memorial. Lenoir-Rhyne entered Wednesday night as the No.8 team in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll.
The Bears jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute, as Harri Rowe fired a beautiful shot from the left sideline to the far post for the goal. The Trojan defense dd a great job of weathering the storm for the remainder of the half, keeping the Bears scoreless on 10 more shot attempts including two saves from goalkeeper Amos Uber, who finished the evening with six.
Just before halftime in the 41st minute, Joao Martinho connected with Diego Jaramillo off a corner kick, as Jaramillo's header found the back of the net to equalize the score at 1-1 heading into the intermission.
Lenoir-Rhyne responded quickly as they reclaimed the lead five minutes into the second half when Ivan Rubio delivered a long through ball to Adrian Martina, getting the ball past the outstretched arms of Uber.
Once again, the Trojans continued to fight back. Diego Jaramillo continued his terrific night by finding the foot of Pablo Sanz on a pass across the box, as Sanz scored his first goal of the season to tie the match at 2-2 in the 56th minute. Less than two minutes later, Anderson was awarded a penalty kick after a foul was called in the box. Senior leader Joao Martinho stepped up and came through for the Trojans on the PK, giving his team the 3-2 advantage.
The intensity started to heighten at the Mortez Sports Campus as the Trojans were on the verge of an upset. Lenoir-Rhyne kept up the offensive attack, totaling 12 shots in the second half of play. Anderson's back line led by Ben Lemen, Mariano Carpena, and Joao Martinho helped keep the score in AU's favor. However, in the 81st minute the Bears scored their second goal off a corner kick to equalize the score at 3-3.
Momentum continued to swing in LR's favor in the 84th minute when Caleb McDowall was given his second yellow card of the match, resulting in a red card and disqualification, putting Anderson a man-down. On the ensuing free kick, LR found the back of the net to take a 4-3 lead, hanging on for the victory.
"The team fought hard and showed character tonight against a solid LR team," said coach Michael Zion. "Unfortunately, in the end it just wasn't enough. We made some mistakes and got punished. We also did some great things and could have won the game. The margin error for winning and losing these games is so tight and these mistakes seemed to be the difference tonight."
The Trojans will be back in action on Wednesday (Sept. 28) as they return to Spero Financial Field to host the Limestone Saints. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.autrojans.com.
