89th-minute goal sends #17 Women’s Soccer and #15 Lenoir-Rhyne to 1-1 draw

Hickory, N.C. —- The Catawba College women's soccer team netted a goal with 64 seconds remaining to force a 1-1 draw at 15th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne to keep the Bears from claiming the South Atlantic Conference regular season title. With the result, Wingate is the outright SAC regular season champion.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Lenoir-Rhyne out-shot Catawba 6-5

- The Bears put three shots on goal to the Catawba Indians' two

- Both teams took three corner kicks

- Both teams committed seven fouls

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Bree Ehmer headed in the game-tying goal near the final minute mark

- Alexah Fite delivered the assist on a long cross into the box

- Ashley Hughes made two saves

- Morgan Delair delivered Catawba's other shot on goal

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Delair had the first shot on target of the game in the 19th minute

- Neither team was able to test the opponent's keeper in a defensive first half; the teams combined for just four shots

SECOND HALF

- LR's Ava Hartman got a clean look in the 52nd minute, but Hughes stepped up for the save

- Hartman returned with another threatening look in the 55th minute, but Hughes once again kept the game scoreless

- Ehmer's curling left-footed strike in the 77th minute hit the crossbar in Catawba's best opportunity to that point in the game

- The Bears responded with a penalty kick opportunity, which Evan O'Leary converted to take a 1-0 lead

- Lenoir-Rhyne attempted to burn the rest of the time, but Fite's long cross found the head of Ehmer, who lifted a header over the LR keeper for the game-tying goal with just 64 seconds to go

GAME NOTES

- Ehmer's team-leading 11th goal of the season

- Fite's second assist of the season

- Catawba's 17th top-two finish in the SAC, six more than any other program in the SAC

- The Catawba Indians' fifth straight top-two finish extends the longest active streak in the league

- Catawba finishes as the league's leading scoring team for the fourth consecutive season

- The team also boasted the league's top defense, allowing 11 goals overall through 16 games and only four in 12 conference games

- Sixth matchup between ranked Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne teams in the last four seasons alone; Catawba's first points earned in Hickory since October 2021

UP NEXT

- Catawba earned the 3-seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament; they'll host 6-seed Anderson at Frock Field this Saturday, Nov. 9 with first touch set for 1 p.m.