Lions Drop 2-1 Decision at King

BRISTOL, TENN. – The Mars Hill men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 road decision to non-conference opponent King Tornado on Wednesday, September 07 at Parks Field. The Lions drop to 0-2 on the young season while King improves to 1-2.

The first 15 minutes of the contest were very uneventful as the two teams tried to establish some sort of offensive momentum. King finally broke through in the 26^th minute following a yellow card by the Lions. On the ensuing free kick, a perfectly placed ball into the box from about 30 yards out was redirected and headed in by Nick Boegemann to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

That one-goal lead would remain going into the intermission. King was able to manage two shots on goal during the first while Mars Hill put one on the box throughout the first 45. Each goalie came up with a save each and King edged the Lions 2-1 in corners.

King tried to add to its lead early in the second half with a scoring opportunity in the 51^st minute, but keeper Ben Lucas stood tall in goal and denied the Tornado offense. MHU finally started to see some movement on the attack side as it was able to put pressure on the King defense. Midfielder Ian Wu claimed the best scoring chance on the afternoon in the 64^th minute, but was unable to push through the equalizer as his shot was pushed over the goal by the Tornado goalie.

The missed opportunity loomed large just four minutes later when Faber Bickerstaffe was able to collect a rebound off a save and blast it into the back of the net to give KU the 2-0 lead. Wu finally put the Lions on the board with his second goal of the season in the 83^rd minute with a penalty kick after being fouled in the box. However, that would be as close as the Lions would get as King was able to escape with the 2-1 win.

Mars Hill edged King in shots (10-9) and corners (6-4). Lucas played all 90 minutes in goal, collecting three saves on the afternoon. Wu and River Naisang contributed three shots each.

The Lions will be back in action on Friday, September 9, playing host to Florida Southern. Kickoff is set to begin at 7 p.m.