Seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to defeat second-seeded Tusculum College 3-0 in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at Pioneer Field.

Mehmet Karakilinc scored the tiebreaking goal with 19:21 left in the second half, and Chibuzo Nwosu and Sean Rogers added insurance tallies in the final three minutes as the Bears (8-8-3) advance to face sixth-seeded Catawba in Friday's semifinals. The Pioneers, who had played the Bears to a 1-1 tie in the regular-season finale on Sunday, finished their season with a 7-8-3 record.

"I thought Lenoir-Rhyne came in and made it difficult for us. They packed it in and defended, then had an opportunity and had a good strike," said Pioneer head coach Allen Vital. "I'm awfully proud of the way we played. It was not easy to find space behind them. The last two games against Lenoir-Rhyne we probably played the best we played all year. We have to build on that, try to improve and hopefully get another shot at this game next year."

Neither team had any significant offensive pressure in the first half, with a shot by the Pioneers' Fernando Leon with 4:31 left providing the only scoring opportunity in the half. Tusculum had a 3-1 advantage in shots in the first half, while both teams took three corner kicks.

The Pioneers had the first shot of the second half with 30:44 to play, and it was a good one as Javier Portillo's try from 15 yards straight on was stopped by the Bears' Stefan Dill.

With play largely neutral, the Bears took advantage of a quick chance to open the scoring. Chris Johnson's feed from the left side was blasted to the far post by Karakilinc for his second goal of the season, both against the Pioneers, and a 1-0 Lenoir-Rhyne lead with 19:21 to go.

Tusculum mounted pressure after the Lenoir-Rhyne goal, but a pair of shots by Kjetil Paulsen went wide of the target. With the Pioneers pushing forward, the Bears went on the attack and Nwosu converted a cross from Rogers for his sixth goal of the season and a 2-0 L-R lead with 2:58 remaining.

The Bears tacked on a third goal with just six seconds left when Rogers stole the ball deep in the Pioneer end and maneuvered around keeper Andy Goellner toward an empty net for his fifth goal of the season.

Tusculum finished the match with a 7-5 lead in the shot department, but all three of Lenoir-Rhyne's shots on goal wound up in the net. The Pioneers had four shots on goal, all saved by Dill.