HICKORY, N.C. – Overcoming a 2-0 deficit early in the second half, the Lander women's soccer team roared back to take a 3-2 victory in double-overtime and captured its first NCAA Tournament win in program history over the No. 2 seed and host Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Friday evening.
The 7-seed Bearcats upset the South Atlantic Conference Tournament champions and No. 15 team in the country while pushing their record to 9-3-5 on the campaign; Lenoir-Rhyne's season ends with a 13-2-5 mark.
Senior
Korina Byland played hero with 3:33 left in the second of two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods as
Rylee King delivered a perfect free kick from the left side of the pitch and Byland headed it past the Bears' keeper for the win.
Lander wouldn't have been in that position without
Alarie Hodge, the senior who scored two unassisted goals less than 10 minutes apart in the 66th and 76th minutes to tie the game at 2 and set the stage for the run to the finish.
For the game, the Bearcats outshot the Bears 22-19 and had a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal. Lander completely controlled the second overtime stanza – and largely the final 40 minutes of the game – outshooting LR 4-0 in the waning minutes.
With the milestone win, Lander advances to the second round to play Peach Belt foe and No. 3 seed North Georgia on Sunday at 3 p.m., also in Hickory. UNG earned a 2-0 win over SAC-member Wingate in the early window on Friday.
The Bearcats and Nighthawks played to a 1-1 draw in their lone meeting this season back on Nov. 4 in Dahlonega.
