HICKORY, N.C. – The Catawba men's soccer team shut out South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne 2-0 on the road Wednesday night, claiming the best start to a season in program history.
Catawba (9-0-2, 5-0-1 SAC) outshot the Bears 9-7, with each team attempting four on target. Corner kicks were also even at four apiece. Four cards were assessed, all going against Lenoir-Rhyne (1-7-3, 1-4-2 SAC).
Just four minutes into the contest,
Juan Camilo fired an absolute strike in the back of the net from well outside the box from a
João Magalhães assist to put Catawba in front 1-0.
The goal marked Camilo's fifth of the season, tying a team-high with Magalhães and
Alex Payton. The Catawba Indians' trio are all tied for the conference lead in the category.
Héctor Vara was sharp in net, saving Bears' shot attempts in the 26th, 28th and 37th minutes to keep them off the board.
With under a minute remaining in the first half, Catawba earned a corner kick, taken by
Diogo Correia. The freshman landed the attempt in the middle of the crease as it was redirected off a Lenoir-Rhyne defender to
Álvaro Díaz, who booted in his first career goal.
Gabriel Miranda recorded the two Catawba shot attempts on goal in the second half. Vara picked up another save in the 56th minute for his seventh shutout of the season.
Leo Souza,
Guilherme Quintas and
Igor Gonçalves anchored the defensive unit, each delivering 90 minutes of quality play.
The Bears were forced to compete a man down for the final 28 minutes after receiving a red card. The Catawba Indians capitalized by controlling possession and limiting shot opportunities, remaining unbeaten and improving their winning percentage to .909, the highest in program history through 11 matches.
The Catawba men's soccer team will travel to Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, October 10th, at 7 p.m. for more South Atlantic Conference action.
