Emmanuel College Sports Information Department

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The Emmanuel Soccer Lions traveled to Mount Olive, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon in search of their first win in the Conference Carolinas against the University of Mount Olive Trojans.

Confidence was high in the Emmanuel camp after a convincing victory midweek, and that showed early on as the Lions moved the ball well early on despite the tricky surface. The Lions were able to engineer several scoring opportunities in the first half as they pressured the Trojans deep in their defensive third, but they were unable to capitalize on those chances.

Mount Olive also had opportunities to score in the first half but the Emmanuel back line stood firm and freshmen goalkeeper Ryan Brose was proving difficult to beat. The teams would go into the half scoreless.

Mount Olive came out in the second half revitalized, determined to send the Lions home empty handed. That would not be the case as the Lions defended valiantly, soaking up constant pressure from the Trojans.

The hard work of the Lions was rewarded in the 83rd minute when a loose ball in the box fell to freshmen forward Cole Redman. Redman showed great skill controlling his volley as he sent it over the head of the goalkeeper, clipping the underside of the crossbar and bouncing over the line to put the Lions up 1-0.

Despite Mount Olive throwing everything they had at Emmanuel in the final seven minutes the Lions were able to hold on and travelled home with their first conference win. Coach Borchers had this to say after the game "I'm really happy with the way the boys played. The boys managed themselves well in tough conditions and against a difficult opponent. It's always good to see reward for a strong performance."

The Lions are back in action this Tuesday when they travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on Columbia International University in a non-conference match up with kick off slated for 7pm.