Mount Olive men’s soccer fights to draw with Lees-Mcrae

BANNER ELK – With three combined goals scored in the final 11-plus minutes, the Trojans played to a 3-3 draw at Lees-McRae on Oct. 22 in Conference Carolinas play.

With the tie, the University of Mount Olive men’s soccer team stands at 9-5-2 overall with a 6-3-2 mark in league action. The Trojans will enter the league tournament as the No. 5 overall seed and host the opening round on Wednesday versus Emmanuel at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Bobcats moved to 7-2-7 this season with a 5-1-5 record in conference play.

Lees-McRae pounced in the opening minutes, tallying two goals in the initial three-plus minutes of the match. The Bobcats scored the opener at the 1:45 mark before recording another goal in the third minute to take a decisive two-goal advantage.

UMO responded at the 12:25 mark after sophomore Guilherme Semola tallied his sixth goal of the year following assists from seniors Roberto Hernandez and Trevor Berk to cut the lead to 2-1. In the 20th minute, Berk nearly tied the match after a shot bounced off the crossbar. The Trojans tallied four shots and five corner kicks to finish the first half, as Lees-McRae held a one-goal advantage.

In the second half, Mount Olive knotted the match at 2-2 after Hernandez scored off an assist from junior Kevin Avila at the 78:50 mark. Just over six minutes later, the Trojans used that momentum to take a 3-2 lead on another goal by Hernandez, his sixth of the year. The Bobcats answered with less than four minutes in the contest after scoring on a penalty kick to tie the game, 3-3.

Sophomore goalkeeper Axel Engine collected five saves on 17 shots attempted in the contest. Both teams tied with 17 shots taken and eight attempts on goal, while UMO held a 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics