HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The #4 seed Lions of Mars Hill College upset the top seeded Cobras of Coker College by a score of 2-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament on Friday night.
Mars Hill opened the game with a dominating first half scoring the first goal of the game just six minutes in. Alex Mullen found the back of the net with a header off a corner from Gregg Munn. The Lions made it 2-0 just before the end of the half with a long cross from Troy Chavez that was headed over Coker's keeper by Stephen Bivens.
The Cobras turned up the pressure in the second half, outshooting the Lions 14-2, but they could not find the back of the net until the 82nd minute when Fernando Bedoya (Miami, Fla.) put home a one-timer from Stephen Scrivens (Tampa, Fla.) to cut the lead to just one.
Coker continued to put heavy pressure on the Mars Hill defense for the remainder of the game, but the Lions were able to hold on for the win.
The Lions improve to 13-5-1 and advance to face the #2 seed Flagler College in the Second Round of the tournament on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Coker's field.
The Cobras finish out their year ranked No. 5 nationally with a record of 18-3 overall.