Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial advance in NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament

Hickory, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne College (19-1) and Lincoln Memorial University (14-1-2) advanced to the championship match of the 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Appalachian Region Tournament after picking up semifinal victories Thursday at Bears Field in Hickory, N.C.

L-R will now host Lincoln Memorial in the regional finals Saturday at 1 p.m., for the right to move on to the Elite Eight.

Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Catawba (11-9) by a 3-2 score while Lincoln Memorial notched a 1-0 victory in overtime against Carson-Newman (14-2-2) in the first match of the doubleheader.

Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Catawba 2

L-R, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II, broke a two-all tie with 3:15 left in the contest when Darren Back (Nottingham, England) scored on a cross from Robert Dough (Albemarle, N.C.) right in front of the net for the game-winning goal as the Bears pushed their winning streak to 10 matches.

Lenoir-Rhyne did jump out to a 2-0, first-half lead before Catawba rallied to tie in the contest at two on back-to-back goals from Nathan Zuzga (Troy, Mich.).

Zuzga cut the lead to one (2-1) just before halftime on a free kick in the 37th minute before tying the match on a penalty kick at the 59:10 mark.

The Bears took the lead early when Ged Quinn (Jarrow, England) scored on a free ball in the box just 11:58 in while Amar Brkic (Winston-Salem, N.C.) made it 2-0 with a goal in the 35th minute on a long breakaway down the right side. The goal was Brkic's team-leading 13th of the year.

In goal, L-R's Mark Jorgensen (Ringwood, Australia) picked up the win while Catawba's Tyler Held (Virginia Beach, Va.) suffered the loss.

Lincoln Memorial 1, Carson-Newman 0 (OT)

The Railsplitters' Jordan Green (Pensacola, Fla.) scored the match's lone goal 5:33 into overtime on a deflection off a corner kick. The goal was Green's first of the 2006 season.

Lincoln Memorial came into the contest ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division II while Carson-Newman, who lost its second straight match after going unbeaten in its first 16 contests of the year, is ranked ninth nationally.

LMU's Brent Cole (Knoxville, Tenn.) tallied the shutout in goal while Carson-Newman's Tyler Baldock (Surrey, British Columbia) suffered the loss despite allowing one goal and saving five shots.