ROCK HILL, S.C. - A hat trick from Lasse Sohrweide, the SAC Player of the Year, lifted the third-seeded Anderson men's soccer team to a 3-2 win past No. 5 seed Mars Hill in the 2010 Food Lion SAC Championship match Sunday afternoon at the Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex.
Anderson (14-5-1) made its inaugural season in the South Atlantic Conference a memorable one, as the Trojans won their third straight match, and 10 of its last 11 outings en route to setting a new school record for wins in a season for the second consecutive season.
The Trojans defeated Mars Hill (14-5-1) for the second time this season, while snapping the Lions' three-match win streak.
There are no automatic qualifiers in Division II men's soccer, so despite winning the conference tournament crown, the Trojans will have to wait until Monday to find out if they will receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Championship selections will take place Monday evening at 7 p.m. via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com.
Sohrweide scored the first goal of the contest in the 23rd minute when teammate Mark Smith found the 6-foot midfielder in the box and Sohrweide placed his header in the back of the net for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.
Sohrweide gave the Trojans a two-goal cushion at the 29:34 mark off an assist from junior midfielder Scott Clapperton by blasting home a shot from eight yards out.
The Lions' Gregg Munn responded with a goal less than two minutes later off a corner kick to trim AU's lead to one, but Smith again found Sohrweide in the 65th minute with a long pass that the Flensburg, Germany, native corralled on the right side and his blast from close range settled in the back of the net, boosting the AU lead to 3-1.
Mars Hill again pulled within one, with less than 13 minutes on the clock when Stephen Bivens scored for the Lions, but the AU defense prevented Mars Hill from collecting the equalizer in the final moments and the Trojans notched the title.
Sohrweide recorded a match-high seven shots, while a quintet of Trojans each posted a shot on the night. Lukas Hesse went the full 90 minutes between the pipes for the Trojans, facing 16 shots and collecting two saves while getting the win.
Following the match, Sohrweide was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Joining Sohrweide on the All-Tournament team from Anderson were defender Zach Denson; midfielder Adrien Moufflet and defender Kevin Butler.
The NCAA's Southeast Regional will be comprised of the top six
ranked teams in the region, with the final regular-season poll as
follows:
1. Flagler
2. Clayton State
3. Wingate
4. Montevallo
5. Lees-McRae
6. Carson-Newman
7. North Georgia
8. Anderson
