HICKORY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's soccer team used a two-goal second half to draw Lenoir-Rhyne, 2-2, in the squads' regular-season finale on Wednesday evening.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (6-4-6, 4-3-4 SAC) dominated the offensive front with a 18-10 shots advantage as well as an 8-5 on-target attempt edge over the Bears (6-8-1, 5-5-1 SAC)
- The Catawba Indians embellished on the nation's third-best corner kick average by taking nine corners while the Bears received just two opportunities
- Lenoir-Rhyne committed fewer fouls by a 10-8 difference, but were riddled by yellow cards with five cautions compared to Catawba's one
- Each side was whistled once for being offsides
- Catawba controlled the rock for 61 percent of the match, spending a whopping 73 percent of its time of possession in the attacking half
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Salano Birch blasted home the game-tying goal, his first score since the season opener, on a team-high six shots with four on net
- Joe Bennett recorded a penalty kick bullseye to remain flawless at 2-for-2 in PKs
- The assist on Birch's dart was tabbed to Jaime Serrano, giving the senior his first career helper
- Serrano, Bautista Vecchi-Ramello, and Garrett Alban were credited with one shot on goal apiece
- Zak Stiffler snatched up three shots to move his goalkeeping record to 4-4-5
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Alban quickly delivered the match's first shot just 41 seconds in, but LR's Tomas Fontes turned it away and helped key a drive downfield for the Bears
- The hosts drew a foul in the box, awarding a penalty that Harri Rowe converted to put LR ahead with less than two minutes off the clock
- The Bears refused to concede scoring chances to four Catawba corners, instead adding to their lead with a 32nd-minute goal from Voro Rivera Peris
- Fran Tita and Sam Sawyer connected on shots on goal before halftime as Stiffler saves on each capped the Bears' lead at two
Second Half
- In the 49th minute, a hard foul in the box by LR produced both a card and a PK. Bennett stutter-stepped into a right-footed attack, tickling the twine to tighten the gap
- Four more corners by the blue and white were stuffed in an attempt to equalize, resulting in two saved shots from Birch and a pair of blocked deliveries from Steven Lozano
- Maintaining offensive control in the 62nd minute, Catawba settled possession at midfield as Serrano slipped a lengthy pass to Birch. The senior lured Fontes out of the goalie box for a one-on-one, maneuvering a shot inside the far post for the game-tying strike
- The Catawba Indians out-muscled LR for the last 20 minutes, mustering a 7-2 advantage in shots but failed to break through, finalizing a 2-2 stalemate
UP NEXT
Catawba is the No. 7 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament, setting up a trip to second-seeded Coker on Saturday, Nov. 9 at a time to be determined.
