Men’s Soccer Upsets Wingate in SAC Tournament
Lions Eliminate No. 1 Seed
ROCK HILL, S.C. - No. 5 seeded Mars Hill upset top seeded Wingate by a score of 2-1 in the semifinals of the Food Lion SAC Men's Soccer Tournament Friday evening at Manchester Meadows. Mars Hill improved to 14-4-1 and will face Anderson in the finals on Sunday at 4 p.m. Anderson, the three seed, eliminated Carson-Newman, the two seed in the event. Wingate drops to 15-3 on the year with the loss.
Shadi Harb (San Andres, Columbia) gave MHC a 1-0 lead at the
43:12 mark on a penalty kick. That would be all the scoring the
match would see in the first half of play.
Stephens Bivens (Douglasville, Ga.) scored what would later prove
to be the match winner on a follow off a deflection at the 83:32
mark. Isaiah Schafer (Lakewood, Colo.) sent the ball in to set up
the score.
Three minutes later (86:20), Fabricio Barancoski (Sao Paulo, Brazil) cut the deficit to 2-1 on an unassisted goal, finding the net from 20 yards out. The Lions' defense held strong in the final minutes and the Lions advance to the finals.
Zac Scott (Pittsboro, N.C.) played 90 minutes in goal for MHC and made five saves. Joey Calandra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) also played the entire match in the net and made one save.
The Bulldogs out shot the Lions 21-12. Wingate had eight corner kicks as opposed to MHC who had only one. The Lions were called offsides three times while the Bulldogs were whistled offsides once.
Mars Hill Coach Ian Clerihew
(On beating Wingate in five of the last six meetings)
"I think our guys just get up for it. They're a fantastic team and
our guys know they have to really compete in this game and do the
little things, or else we're not going to get the result."
"We hit a spell where we lost three in a row that were meaningful games. It took us a little bit to rebound from that. We certainly have done that and I'm very proud."
(On playing Anderson in the championship) "They're a great team. We lost 4-2 there, they're a tough matchup, but I know our guys will be ready."