Lions to Face Carson-Newman in SAC Tournament

MARS HILL, N.C.—Mars Hill's men's soccer team will travel to Carson-Newman for the Quarterfinal round of the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship, which will take place Tuesday afternoon.

The Lions earned the #6 seed in the tournament after finishing the regular-season 6-9 overall and 6-5 in SAC matches. MHU closed out regular-season play with a 2-0 victory at Catawba Saturday afternoon. The Eagles started SAC play 2-3, but enter the SAC Championship Tournament on a six-match conference winning-streak. C-N (12-4, 8-3 SAC) defeated Anderson 3-2 in overtime in their final conference match of the season to earn the #3 seed. Tuesday afternoon's match is set for 1:00 p.m.

SAC Championship men's soccer Quarterfinal matches will take place on campus sites Tuesday. The tournament moves to Rock Hill, S.C. for the Semifinal and Championship rounds, which take place Friday and Sunday. The winner of the Lions-Eagles match will take on the winner of the #7 Anderson at #2 Wingate matchup.

Carson-Newman won this season's regular-season matchup between the two teams by a score of 2-1. Nico Noll scored the game-winner in the closing minute for the Eagles. Kristian Speake also scored for C-N, while Felipe Ferraro notched the Lions' tally. The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie in the last meeting at Carson-Newman, which took place during the 2012 season. This season, Mars Hill is 4-4 in away matches.

The Eagles were the second-leading scoring team in the conference during the regular-season. Ross Frame led the SAC in scoring and assists, with 15 goals and nine assists. The Lions ranked ninth in the conference in scoring. Ferraro and Alex Mullen tied for the team lead with four goals.

Mars Hill boasted the second-stingiest defense in league play, allowing 1.07 goals per match.  Carson-Newman tied for third in the league with a 1.14 goals-against average in conference matches.

Lion goalkeeper Chris Mitchell finished second in the conference among keepers with 10 or more starts with 0.98 goals-against average. He notched four shutouts. Eagle counterpart Rumwald Le Guevel was second in the SAC in saves, third in save percentage and eighth in goals-against average.

The 2013 Food Lion SAC Men's Soccer Championship schedule is listed below.

Quarterfinals- Nov. 5 at higher seed
#8 Catawba at #1 Queens
#7 Anderson at #2 Wingate
#6 Mars Hill at #3 Carson-Newman
#5 Coker at #4 Lincoln Memorial

Semifinals- Nov. 8 (at Rock Hill, S.C.)
Catawba/Queens vs. Coker/Lincoln Memorial
Wingate/Anderson vs. Mars Hill/Carson-Newman

Final- Nov. 10 (at Rock Hill, S.C.)
Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner