HARDEEVILLE, S.C. — The SCAD men's soccer team built a three-goal first-half lead and held on to defeat Florida Memorial University 3-2 in the Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday evening at the SCAD Athletics Complex.
RECORDS: The Bees improve to 5-9-3 overall, while Florida Memorial finishes its season at 4-11-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED: SCAD took control of the match early in the opening half, striking first in the 18th minute.
Marko Pranjic launched a strike that hit the crossbar, and
Lejs Plicanic capitalized on the opportunity to net his second goal of the season and give the Bees a 1-0 lead.
The Bees expanded their advantage in the 35th minute when
Wenzel Lindmoser found the back of the net off Pranjic's second assist of the match, marking Lindmoser's third goal of the year.
SCAD capped off an explosive first half in the 41st minute as
Simeon Dishman scored his first goal of the season off a delivery from
Nicolas Lozano, sending the Bees into halftime with a commanding 3-0 cushion.
Florida Memorial responded in the second half, cutting into the deficit with a goal in the 60th minute to make it 3-1. Shortly after, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when a player received a second yellow card resulting in a red card in the 64th minute.
Despite the numerical advantage, SCAD faced late pressure as Florida Memorial scored in the 90th minute to trim the lead to one. The Bees stood firm through the final seconds to secure the 3-2 triumph and advance in postseason play.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: SCAD recorded 19 total shots in the contest, putting 10 on target, while Florida Memorial finished with 21 total shots and five on goal.
Lejs Plicanic paced the SCAD attack with five shots, placing two on goal with one score.
Marko Pranjic dished out two assists while adding three shots with one on target.
Wenzel Lindmoser and
Simeon Dishman each scored on their shots on goal, while
Kimi Husler and
Tim Rothe notched three shots apiece with one on target.
Moritz Prattes put both of his two shot attempts on goal, and
Nicolas Lozano credited one assist.
Goalkeeper
Max Keller played the full 90 minutes in net, making three saves to earn the victory.
WHAT'S NEXT? The Bees will travel to Miami Gardens, Fla. to face the No. 2 seeded Bobcats of St. Thomas University on Saturday, November 7 at 6:00 p.m.
