Trojans sink Flying Fleet in Conference Carolinas soccer tournament

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on October 31, 2012 1:49 PM

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DUE WEST, S.C. -- John Kwennah scored the season-saving tying goal with two seconds left in regulation and Nick Bernsdorf made saves on two of four penalty-kick shootout attempts to lift sixth-seeded Mount Olive past third-seeded Erskine in quarterfinal-round play of the 2012 Conference Carolinas men's soccer tournament.

The teams officially tied 1-1, but the Trojans prevailed 4-2 in the shootout.

MOC (6-8-4 overall) travels to Limestone in semifinal-round play Friday. Barton faces Belmont Abbey in the other semifinal. The championship match is Sunday.

With the Trojans trailing 1-0 and the final seconds winding down on the their season, a scramble ensued in the Erskine box. Kwennah captured the loose ball in front of the goal and scored at the 89:58 mark to force overtime.

After two scoreless 15-minute sessions, Bernsdorf set the tone for the shootout with a save on Erskine's first attempt. Tyler Vandevender put home his PK attempt to give Mount Olive a 1-0 lead after the first round.

Erskine goalkeeper Robert De La Vina and P.C. Henry both converted for the Flying Fleet, while Kelly Keaton and Kwennah both answered for Mount Olive as the Trojans led 3-2 after three rounds.

Bernsdorf followed with his second save and put Mount Olive just one goal away from clinching the win. Craig Allan delivered the winning penalty kick for the Trojans' first conference tournament victory since 2006.

Men's golf

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mark O'Hara tied for the lowest 54-hole score out of 93 golfers and finished second after a five-way playoff to help Mount Olive tie for fourth out of 18 teams at the McDonough Cup.

The Trojans placed ahead of three of the four national top 10 teams competing in the tournament and finished in a three-way tie with Valdosta State (Ga.) University, and tournament host and nationally 15th-ranked Rollins.

The Trojans carded a 304 in Tuesday's final round for a three-day score of 900, the third lowest 54-hole score in school history. Mount Olive finished eight strokes behind third-place Florida Southern. Lynn (Fla.) carded an 877 for a three-shot win over nationally top-ranked Nova Southeastern (Fla.).

O'Hara, who was tied for the lead after shooting a 73 and 71 Monday for a two-round total of 144, carded a 74 on Tuesday to finish in a five-way tie for first place with a 54-hole score of 218. Lynn's Daniel Young won the playoff to capture the individual title.

Sebastian Anderson (223) tied for 14th, Dalton Gore (231) tied for 47th, Philippe Tjantele (233) tied for 54th and Kyle Simpson (35) tied for 66th. All five Trojan golfers shot in the 70s on Tuesday and had only one individual round above 79 for the tournament.

The Trojans beat out nationally second-ranked Barry (Fla.), No. 7 Columbus State (Ga.) and No. 9 Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.). Seven teams ranked nationally among the top 16 competed in the tournament.

MOC begins its spring season in February.