MARS HILL, N.C. --- Stephen Bivens and Richard Osterloh scored second-half goals as 13th-ranked Mars Hill College defeated Tusculum College 2-0 in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action Wednesday night at Meares Stadium.

Bivens' goal came at 51:57 and Osterloh tallied at 61:12 for the Lions (9-0-1 overall, 4-0-1 SAC), who avenged a 2-0 loss to the Pioneers (2-5-3 overall, 1-3-0 SAC) in last year's SAC championship match.

Despite a 13-4 advantage in shots by Mars Hill, the teams were scoreless after the first half. Then, Bivens took a shot from 20 yards out that found the bottom right corner to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute.

Faced with a deficit, the Pioneers' chances took a hit at 55:17 when leading scorer Andres Jarquin was sent off with a red card. With the man advantage, the Lions kept up the pressure and went ahead 2-0 at 61:12 as Osterloh chipped home a shot from 15 yards for his team-high 10th goal of the season, assisted by Giovanni Malnati.

Mars Hill finished the game with a 22-5 advantage in shots over Tusculum, including 9-1 in the second half. The Lions took all six of the corner kicks in the match, and were flagged for offsides 12 times.

Pioneer keeper Andy Goellner helped keep the Pioneers in the match by making eight saves, while Zac Scott finished with two saves and earned the shutout for the Lions.

Tusculum will celebrate Homecoming Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the Pioneers welcome Shepherd for a non-conference battle at Niswonger Sports Complex / Pioneer Field.

- TC -