BRISTOL, TENN. –
Ryan Aliam found the back of the net off a pass from
Noah Daragmeh as the Lees-McRae men's soccer team earned the 1-0 win at King in the first of two "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" matches on the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 1; King -- 0
LOCATION: Parks Field -- Bristol, Tennessee
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (3-3-2/3-1-0); King (3-5-0/0-3-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Aliam scored his second goal of the season for the Bobcats after Daragmeh found him in the box for the goal in the 15th minute of action.
- Leon Vrban had the first quality chance on target for Lees-McRae in the third minute of play but King's Gauthier Lumale made the first of six saves on the day.
- Sean Green kept the one-goal advantage for the Bobcats with two saves in the first half, and Lees-McRae entered the break with the 1-0 lead.
- Daragmeh narrowly gave the Bobcats their second goal of the match in the 57th minute but the Tornado's goalkeeper made another quality stop. Jesper Jonsson followed in the 64th minute of play, but the ball was collected into the hands of King's goalie.
- King had three more shots on goal in the final 20 minutes of play, but Green held on for his first collegiate shutout.
- Owen Smith and Harrison Watts also added a shot on target for the Bobcats in the contest.
- Lees-McRae had the narrow margin in shots, 14-12, and shot on goal, 8-5, over the Tornado. The Bobcats also earned six corner kicks to King's two.
FOR THE TORNADO:
- Lumale made six saves in today's match while conceding the lone goal. Ben Dalglish, Pedro Herrera, Weston Joyner, Roman De Leon, and Ricky Sexton all had shots on goal for the Tornado.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Lees-McRae holds the early 2-1 lead in the "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" standings with King for the 2023-24 season.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae welcomes new Conference Carolinas member Young Harris to Banner Elk on Saturday, Sept. 30 for a 5:30 p.m. match.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
