SALISBURY, N.C. — Mason Clark scored with 30 seconds remaining as Tusculum University came away with a dramatic 1-0 victory at Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference men’s soccer Saturday evening.
Clark’s goal came off a quick restart following a Catawba foul and gave the Pioneers (4-5-1, 2-3-1 SAC) their second 1-0 win of the week and extended their unbeaten streak to four matches (three wins, one draw) this month. Tusculum outshot Catawba (4-4-1, 1-3-1 SAC) by a margin of 10-5, with Noe Delmotte earning his third straight shutout by making three saves for the Pioneers.
With the match in the final minute, Catawba was called for a foul near midfield and Tusculum went with a quick restart. Andrew Eneme caught the Indians’ defense off-guard and lifted a pass for Clark at the top of the box, where he got position on the defender and fired a shot past Catawba keeper Hector Vara for his second goal of the season.
Catawba had the lone shot on goal in the first half, as Delmotte made a save on Lukas Garcia-Huidobro in the 10th minute. Tusculum’s best chance came in the 27th minute when Enoch Brako, who scored the lone goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Trevecca Nazarene, fired a shot off the crossbar.
Tusculum’s first shot on goal came in the 54th minute when an attempt by Devin Vital was stopped by Vara. Delmotte made a stop on a long attempt from Alex Payton in the 79th minute, and Vara cradled a free-kick attempt from Elliott Edwards in the 80th minute. Delmotte’s final save of the evening came with just under two minutes remaining when he punched away a long shot from Adriano Melo.
Catawba took six corner kicks to one for Tusculum, while the Indians were called for 17 fouls and the Pioneers were whistled seven times. Vara finished with two saves in goal for Catawba in the match.
Delmotte is the first Tusculum keeper to record three straight shutouts since Nicolas Leite opened the 2023 season with three clean sheets in a row. Three of Delmotte’s four shutouts this season have come on the road.
Tusculum will play its next three matches at home, starting Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. against Emory & Henry. The Wasps are 4-3-2 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play, and have been idle since a 3-1 win at Coker last Saturday.
