COLUMBIA, Ky. - The Lindsey Wilson men's soccer team fell to Bethel (Tenn.) 1-0 in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament Thursday night at Ray Wells Field inside Walter S. Reuling Stadium.
The Blue Raiders (9-7-1) outshot the Wildcats (8-4-2) 17-13 and had a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal, but an own goal by Lindsey Wilson was the equalizer. Tyson Ndlovu recorded five shots and Bony Ulrich recorded four, two of them being on goal. Goalkeeper Zahir Garcia tallied three saves in the loss.
Both teams traded shots in the first 28 minutes of the game, with Ulrich having two shots saved by Bethel's keeper Mauricio Gonzalez De Leon. Garcia recorded his first save in the 33rd minute when a shot by Norbert Ochieng went straight to Garcia. Another shot by Ulrich in the 35th minute went high, and the Blue Raiders entered halftime tied 0-0.
Lindsey Wilson came out of the gates swinging offensively in the second half when Darren Bantom got a shot off 30 seconds into the half, but De Leon was able to corral the ball. In a four-minute span starting at the 61st minute, the Blue Raiders got off four shots, but the Wildcats defense denied every single attempt.
In the 74th minute, a Bethel corner kick resulted in the ball getting deflected out to midfield, but the ball was sent back in and a Wildcat was able to shoot the ball that deflected off the shoe of a Blue Raider, redirecting the ball to the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Raiders had three more opportunities to tie the game up late in the second half. Renny Caicedo headed a ball that went straight to the keeper in the 81st minute, then he shot high 25 second later before Bantom released a shot wide right in the 85th minute resulting in the Blue Raiders losing 1-0.
The Blue Raiders now will await the NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament bracket revel on November 13, at 6 p.m. CT.
