Anderson, Lenoir-Rhyne Advance to 2011 Food Lion SAC Men’s Championship Match

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Top-seeded Anderson and upstart No. 7 seed Lenoir-Rhyne each captured 2-0 victories on Friday in the 2011 Food Lion SAC Soccer Championship men's semifinals, advancing to Sunday's title match.

Anderson scored two late goals to dispatch of Lincoln-Memorial, while L-R outlasted Catawba after capturing a lead early in the opening half.

[2011 Food Lion SAC Soccer Championship Central]

AU and LMU, behind strong defensive and goalkeeping efforts, remained scoreless for more than 73 minutes of the match until SAC Player of the Year Lasse Sohrweide's free kick ricocheted off the crossbar and into the net, giving the Trojans a 1-0 lead.

It took Anderson less than three minutes to punch in another goal, this time off the foot of freshman forward Tipawi Munetsi - off an assist from Sohrweide - to give the Trojans a two-goal margin it would hold for the remainder of the match.

LMU outshot Anderson, 11-9, but was unable to penetrate a Trojan defensive front anchored by first team All-Conference selections Kevin Butler at defender and goalkeeper Lukas Hesse.

[Anderson forward Lasse Sohrweide post-match interview]

Lenoir-Rhyne, which went 3-4-2 in the SAC regular season, has caught fire in two SAC Championship matches. Three days after recording a convincing 3-0 win over second-seeded Tusculum in the quarterfinals, the Bears got off to quick start against Catawba.

Less than five minutes into the match, junior defender Joe Green found the back of the net on a header off a corner kick from defender Chris Johnson to give his team the lead. The goal was Green's second of the season.

Despite both teams getting multiple shots-on-goal, the match went without another score until a Catawba miscue led to an own-goal in the 64th minute, putting L-R up 2-0.

A strong Bears defense, anchored by goalkeeper Stefan Dill, held on the rest of way, earning a berth in Sunday's championship match.

Anderson defeated Lenoir-Rhyne, 4-1, in the two teams' regular-season meeting. The Trojans will be looking for their second-straight SAC championship, while Lenoir-Rhyne will be fighting for its first since 2006.

Sunday's championship match, which will be played at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C., will kick off at 1 p.m. Pregame ceremonies will include a special presentation from the Wounded Warrior Project.