Goals from Cody Kammerzell in the first half and Matias Rubio in the final minute propelled Tusculum College to a 2-0 victory over Lees-McRae College on the opening day of the Stanno Tournament in men's soccer action Friday evening.

Kammerzell scored in the 20th minute and Rubio tallied with 28 seconds left after Brandon Burney cleared the potential tying goal off the line for the Pioneers (2-1-0). Tusculum finished with a 16-7 advantage in shots over Lees-McRae (1-2-0).

"We played well and controlled the game for the most part. To their credit, Lees-McRae never stopped and put a lot of pressure on us until the end," said Pioneer head coach Allen Vital. "We created enough chances and finally got the go-away goal."

After missing wide on a one-on-one situation with Bobcat keeper Thomas Rusling about eight minutes earlier, Kammerzell was able to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead at 19:14 with his first career goal, as he headed home a throw-in from Adam Kulbat. Tusculum was able to carry the advantage into halftime, finishing the first half with a 7-4 advantage in shots.

The Pioneers had two great chances to build on their lead in the second half, but Stephen McNeill fired a shot off the crossbar with 17 minutes left and Pablo Laguna had a shot blocked at the line by the defense with eight minutes remaining.

Lees-McRae continued to press in the final minutes, and set up for a corner kick with exactly one minute to go. James Smith's service bounced off a Pioneer defender toward the open goal, but Burney was able to block the carom and the Pioneers cleared their end. On the ensuing break, Pimentel crossed to the middle and found Rubio for his first goal of the year with 28 seconds to play.

Andy Goellner posted his second shutout of the season for the Pioneers, making all three of his saves in the first half. Rusling finished with three stops for the Bobcats.

In Friday's other game at the Stanno Tournament, Carson-Newman used a late goal to defeat Shorter 2-1. Action in the tournament will conclude Sunday afternoon as Tusculum will play Shorter at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Field, and Carson-Newman will face Lees-McRae at 3 p.m. on the upper field.