GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Adrian Martina scored the only goal of the match with just over 12 minutes remaining as seventh-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University pulled out a 1-0 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action Saturday night at Pioneer Field.
The match was a defensive struggle between the Bears (4-0-1, 2-0-0 SAC) and the Pioneers (0-3-1, 0-1-0 SAC), as each team finished with just five shot attempts for the entire contest. The game was a physical affair, with the sides combining for 32 fouls and eight yellow cards.
Martina's goal was his fifth in five matches and came at 77:44 off a cross from Jaime Poza at the top of the box, and Martina's low shot went to the far post past Tusculum keeper Bruno De Freitas.
The game did not start as though shots would be at a premium, as each team had a look in the opening four minutes. Tusculum's Ignacio Alconchel was wide on a header from 15 yards less than two minutes into the match, while De Freitas was able to punch away a sharp-angle shot from the Bears' Nicolas Bohigues in the fourth minute.
De Freitas had a save on a redirection at the 6 from Luis Hernandez in the 10th minute, while Alconchel was wide on another header in the 16th minute and Damien Baltide headed wide for the Pioneers in the 23rd minute.
Baltide's shot attempt would be the last for a 39-minute run of play, until the Bears nearly took the lead at the 62nd minute when Poza rang a shot off the crossbar at the upper far corner. The rebound came to Bohigues near the far post, but his attempt was knocked down by De Freitas to keep the match scoreless.
A header from the Pioneers' Baltide off a corner kick went high in the 70th minute, and about eight minutes later the Bears would net the lone goal of the evening off the foot of Martina.
The only shot for either team after Martina's goal came with just over six minutes left, as a free kick attempt from 25 yards by Tusculum's Cristobal Morales curled to the arms of Lenoir-Rhyne keeper Juan Basabe for his only save of the night. The Bears were able to run out the clock in the Tusculum end despite the Pioneers' best efforts to get the ball back for a final chance.
Lenoir-Rhyne was whistled for 20 fouls in the match while Tusculum was called for 12, most coming in the final few minutes while trying to dispossess the Bears. Lenoir-Rhyne had two corner kicks in the match to one by Tusculum, and the Bears were called twice for offsides while the Pioneers were flagged once.
De Freitas finished with three saves in goal for the Pioneers, whose five shot attempts allowed to the Bears were the fewest conceded by Tusculum in a match since yielding just four shots to Coker in a 6-0 win on Oct. 27, 2018.
Tusculum will resume its schedule on Saturday, Sept. 17 with a trip to Coker to face the Cobras at 3:00 p.m. Coker has a 1-1-3 record through five matches, including a 1-1 draw with Mars Hill in its conference opener on Saturday.
