GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Nicholas Slewion and Adonis Igouwe scored 42 seconds apart late in the second half to boost Tusculum University to a 2-0 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference men’s soccer Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Both goals came immediately after a Lenoir-Rhyne player was sent off for a foul that prevented a scoring chance for Tusculum, and the Pioneers (2-8-2, 1-5-1 SAC) were able to capitalize on the advantage to level their home record at 2-2-1 this season.
Gavin Roux made five saves for his second shutout of the season for the Pioneers, who outshot the Bears (2-8-3, 2-5-2 SAC) by an 11-7 margin. Liam Prendergast had five saves for Lenoir-Rhyne in the defeat.
Tusculum had a good early chance as Zeljko Stanojevic put a shot on target from 15 yards but Prendergast made the stop in the 14th minute. The Pioneers had another chance on a free kick in the 24th minute, but Prendergast was able to come up with the save.
In the 39th minute, Stanojevic took a shot from the left side that went off the near post and away on what would be the final shot for either team in the opening half.
Tusculum continued the pressure early in the second half, forcing Prendergast to make a stop on Igouwe in the 52nd minute while Stanojevic sent a free kick over the target in the 57th minute. Patrick Enchill nearly gave the Pioneers the lead in the 68th minute, but his shot was wide on the near side.
With the clock in the 84th minute, the Pioneers were given the advantage when Carlos Perez was fouled hard by Luca Borsatti as he broke toward the goal, bringing out the red card.
Slewion had a shot on the ensuing free kick but Prendergast made the save, and play continued around to a second chance that Slewion buried in the top corner for his second of the year at exactly 84 minutes.
Moments later, Igouwe carried down the right side, controlled to the middle and took a shot that bounced off the far post and into the goal for his first of the season at 84:42 and a 2-0 Tusculum lead.
From there, the Pioneer defense was in control as the Bears had no shot attempts in the final 23 minutes. Tusculum outshot Lenoir-Rhyne 6-2 in the second half of the match.
The Bears had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks over the Pioneers, while Tusculum was flagged six times for offsides and committed 11 fouls to eight for the Bears.
Tusculum will travel back to Mars Hill to face the Lions on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. to conclude a match that was stopped in the 31st minute due to inclement weather. Mars Hill led 2-0 at the time of the stoppage, and the teams will resume from that point and finish the final 60 minutes. The Lions are 6-6-2 overall and 2-5-0 in the SAC after a 3-0 loss at Anderson on Sunday.
