BANNER ELK, N.C. – Freshman
Gray Smith and sophomore
Nate Phillips both scored their first goals of the 2021 season, but it was not enough as visiting Tusculum scored two goals in each half to earn a 4-2 non-conference victory on Tate Field this afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Tusculum – 4; Lees-McRae - 2
LOCATION: Tate Field – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Tusculum (1-1), Lees-McRae (0-1-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Tusculum sprinted out of gates with a shot just five minutes into the contest and were rewarded by opening the game's scoring in the eighth minute.
- After a couple of scoring opportunities by the Bobcats over the next 16 minutes, the Pioneers extended their lead to 2-0 on a goal in the 24th minute.
- Lees-McRae trimmed the deficit to 2-1 as Smith scored on a header off a free kick from Fletcher Dyson with only 1:01 remaining in the first half.
- The game took an interesting turn in the second half as Tusculum tallied three yellow cards in a four-minute span and pushed the lead back to 3-1 with a goal in the 59th minute.
- After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless action, the Bobcats cut the led to one goal as Phillips took a shot that hit the crossbar, collected the loose ball, and pushed a shot past the Pioneer goalkeeper in the 87th minute.
- Tusculum used a miscue by the Lees-McRae defense to score only one second later on the opening kickoff and close out the game's scoring.
- Joshua Garvilla tallied three saves in net for the Bobcats.
- Lees-McRae outshot Tusculum 22-13 (14-7 in shots-on-goal) and finished with a game-high eight corner kicks.
FOR THE FOES:
- Ignacio Alconchel delivered a hat trick to lead the Pioneers, with Xavi Sandoica also scoring.
- Bruno De Freitas finished with 11 saves in net.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will return to Tate Field on Tuesday, Sept. 14 as they host Shaw in a non-conference clash starting at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
