GREENVILLE, S.C. – The opening night of the Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship saw a pair of tight contests and a pair of upsets.

The game of the night came in Franklin Springs as seventh seed University of Mount Olive came back to even the score at Emmanuel University in the final minutes, sending the game to overtime. Following a pair of scoreless extra sessions, the Trojans topped the Lions 4-2 on penalty kicks. Emmanuel took the lead with a pair of Tomas Pollacchi goals, coming in the 18th and 47th minutes before Mount Olive goals from Rafael Obraczka and Guilherme Semola in the 57th and 80th minutes evened the score. Emmanuel regained the lead on another Pollachhi goal in the 82nd minute, but Mount Olive’s Semola found the back of the net again in the 86th minute to send the contest to overtime.

Fifth seed Young Harris College withstood a comeback from eighth seed Lees-McRae College. The Mountain Lions took a 2-0 lead on goals from Filip Zander in the 28th minute and Charlie Wilde in the 40th minute. However, the Bobcats fought back in the second half with goals from Laurin Boettcher in the 69th minute and another from Conor Hart in the 83rd minute. The tie was short-lived, however, as Thomas Kleinpenning scored in the 88th minute to give Young Harris the 3-2 win.

Ninth seed Belmont Abbey College stunned fourth seed Barton College with a pair of late goals to top the Bulldogs 2-0. The Crusaders grabbed the lead with a Sam Jordan goal in the 74th minute, and extended the lead to 2-0 with a Samuel Atherton goal in the 80th minute.

Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and the Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park are available at the link above.

2024 Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship

First Round – Thursday, November 7 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#9 Belmont Abbey def. #4 Barton, 2-0 Box Score
#5 Young Harris def. #8 Lees-McRae, 3-2 Box Score
#7 Mount Olive tied #6 Emmanuel, 3-3 (2OT, UMO 4-2 on PKs) Box Score

Quarterfinals – Sunday, November 10 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#9 Belmont Abbey at #5 Young Harris, 6:00 p.m.
#6 Mount Olive at #3 Francis Marion, 4:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Friday, November 15 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner #4-#5-#8 vs. #1 Chowan, 4:45 p.m.
Winner of #3-#6-#7 vs. #2 Converse, 7:30 p.m.

Final – Sunday, November 17 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 4:00 p.m.