BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Sophomore Nathan Watt delivered the match-winning goal with 59 seconds remaining in regulation to lead the Lees-McRae men's soccer team to a 1-0 win in Conference Carolinas play against Southern Wesleyan Saturday evening at Tate Field in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Bobcats (3-2, 1-0 CC) outshot the opposition 13-8 while Thomas Deeley (Timaru, New Zealand) led all players with five shots. The Warriors (3-2-1, 0-1-1) saw Ruben Rodriguez make three saves on the day.
Deeley nearly put Coach Rich Wall's squad up in the third minute when he blasted a shot that clanked off the crossbar.
SWU's Christian Daza saw a shot sail wide right at the 39:01 mark.
With time winding down and play becoming aggressive, freshman Palle Jespersen (Malente, Germany) delivered a beautiful feed to the middle of the box, where he found Watt's (Newcastle, United Kingdom) head. Watt's header sailed over the outstretched arms of Rodriguez in the 89th minute.
LMC survived a scare when SWU's Marcelo Vargas missed the match-tying goal by inches with only 19 ticks remaining.
Senior Gus Pederson (Sarasota, Fla.) earned the clean slate with one save.
The Bobcats travel to No. 8 Limestone Wednesday, Sep. 23 at 7 p.m. in Gaffney, S.C.
- LMC -
