Wingate, N.C. – The No. 17-ranked Lander men’s soccer team used George Knight‘s 25th-minute goal and the defense’s seventh clean sheet of the season to advance past the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regional Men’s Soccer Tournament as the third-seeded Bearcats defeated sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial on Friday night at the Wingate Soccer Complex.
Lander (13-3-2) earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 2013 and will face second-seeded and 13th-ranked Wingate (14-4-1) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the regional.
Limestone and Young Harris will meet in the other semifinal in Gaffney, S.C. Sunday’s winners will play in the Southeast Regional final next weekend.
Lincoln Memorial finished its season 10-5-3.
The Bearcats are making their third straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, and 12th overall. Lander will try to advance to the regional championship for the first time since 2012 on Saturday night.
Lander got on the board at the 24:49 mark when Oliver Brock crossed a pass to Knight, who took advantage of an open spot and buried his third goal of the season.
Lincoln Memorial outshot the Bearcats 10-5 and held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks, but Lander’s defense held the Railsplitters scoreless. LMU’s best scoring opportunity came in the 73rd minute when Danilo de Silva took aim at an empty net, but Ian Foulger deflected the shot at the goal line to preserve the shutout.
Dean Cowdroy tallied three saves for the Bearcats, while Caleb Cothrin recorded two saves in goal for the Railsplitters.
