GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Pontus Rosen scored the only goal of the match with 18:18 left in the second half as Tusculum College shut out Mars Hill 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action at Pioneer Field Wednesday night.
With the win, the Pioneers (3-6-1, 3-0-0 SAC) extended their unbeaten streak to four matches and opened SAC play with three straight wins for the first time since 2004. Tusculum has posted three straight conference wins for the first time since October, 2009 and has shut out three straight opponents for the first time since September, 2008. It is also the first time that the Pioneers have recorded three straight shutouts in conference matches since pulling off the feat in September, 2004.
Rosen's goal, his second of the season, came from close range following a pass by Javier Portillo, and the Pioneer defense held off the Lions (7-3-0, 4-1-0 SAC) the rest of the way to hand Mars Hill its first conference loss of the season.
"It's a big win for our guys. A lot of credit to our players, the way they came out tonight and faced a very good Mars Hill team that put a lot of pressure on us," said Pioneer head coach Allen Vital. "We played a very good game and deserved the win, now we have to turn our focus to one of the biggest challenges of the year in Clayton State (on Saturday)."
Neither team recorded a shot for the first 11:23 until the Lions' Stephen Bivens shot wide at 11:23. The Lions had four corner kicks in a span of two minutes later in the half, but only had a harmless wide shot by Gregg Munn to show for their efforts. Both goalies came up with saves in the final 11 minutes of the half, as the Pioneers' Andy Goellner stopped Alex Mullen and Mars Hill's Zac Scott denied Roberto Pimentel. The Lions finished the first half with a slender 4-3 advantage in shots, to go with a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
Play grew increasingly physical in the second half, but neither team was able to put together any sustained attack. The Pioneers finally were able to gain some measure of control, uncorking shots on goal in the 58th, 59th and 64th minutes. The 72nd minute turned out to be decisive as Rosen split the defense in front and roofed a shot past Scott for a 1-0 Tusculum lead.
Rosen nearly gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead with just over 10 minutes to go, but his blast from 15 yards caromed squarely off the crossbar. Mars Hill applied late pressure, but was unable to put any shots on Goellner as the Pioneers played away corner kicks in the 87th and 90th minutes to seal the win.
Goellner, who is the first Tusculum keeper since Lance Moore in 2008 to post three straight shutouts, made two saves for the Pioneers while Scott tallied four stops for the Lions. Tusculum finished with an 11-10 advantage in shots, while Mars Hill took seven corners to one by the Pioneers.
Tusculum will carry its three-game win streak out of conference as 13th-ranked Clayton State visits Pioneer Field for a 4 p.m. match on Saturday.
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