HICKORY, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne looked all set to pick up their first win of the year until, with five seconds left, Carson-Newman scored on a free kick to keep the Bears away from the victory column.

Oskar Dahlberg picked up his third goal of the year on tap from Raul Canas on an indirect free kick in the 81st minute.

Neither team had any great scoring opportunities in the first half, with just three combined shots-on-goal. The Bears put the pressure on early in the second as they had three shots saved by C-N’s Elijah Buford. A red card due to two yellows on Carson-Newman’s Rayane Sid Ahmed gave the Bears a man advantage over the final 15 minutes. A yellow card on the Eagles’ goalkeeper set the Bears up for a rare indirect free kick in the box, which Oskar Dahlberg converted for a goal. Just when the Bears thought they had the win, a handball gave the Eagles a late free kick. The kick was taken quickly and scored by C-N’s Matheus Ulrich Da Silva with just 4.9 seconds remaining.

Lenoir-Rhyne out-shot the Eagles 17-9 and held an 8-3 edge in shots-on-goal. There were 30 fouls, eight yellow cards, and one red card in the contest. Hector Taboada led the Bears with four shots.

These teams have a history of being dead even, as they are 20-20-5 against each other all-time. The Bears have not lost outright to the Eagles since a 1-0 defeat in 2017. The last time Lenoir-Rhyne opened the season without a win in their first four matches was in 1992, a year the team won the SAC.

The Bears are still looking for their first win of the season at 0-2-2 overall, and 0-0-1 to open South Atlantic Conference play. Lenoir-Rhyne will look to pick up that elusive first victory a week from today when they travel up the mountain to Banner Elk to face off against Lees-McRae. The Bobcats are 3-0 after wins over Chowan, Virginia State, and Belmont Abbey. Kickoff for next Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

{Information provided by Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics}