GREENVILLE, S.C. – The 2025 Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship started with a pair of upsets in Wednesday's first round. Both 11th seed Emmanuel Univeristy and 12th seed Ferrum College posted victories to advance.
No. 8 Lees-McRae No. 9 Belmont Abbey
The Lees-McRae defense was stifling on Wednesday night, holding Belmont Abbey to 5 shots and only one on frame. Offensively, the Bobcats took the lead in the 19th minute on a Karim Gegg goal with an assist to Nils Schulze. The score remained the same until Gegg took a feed from Connor O’Gorman in the 57th minute and buried his shot into the lower left corner. Jonas Bartelt made it a 3-0 Bobcat advantage with a goal in the 71st minute as Lees-McRae took the contest by that score.
Lees-McRae advances to take on top seed Francis Marion University on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Florence, South Carolina.
No. 12 Ferrum def. No. 5 Barton 2-0
Barton ripped 34 shots in the contest, including 10 on frame, but Ferrum goalkeeper Michael Arzillo turned away all 10 shots to post a shutout. On the offensive side, Alex Bhutia gave the Panthers lead the on a goal in the 14th minute with an assist to Max LaFramoise. The Panthers add an insurance goal in the 85th minute when Jonathan Nicacio found the back of the net on an assist from Jadon Brooks.
Ferrum advances to face fourth seed North Greenville University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Tigerville, South Carolina.
No. 11 Emmanuel def. No. 6 Converse 3-2
The first half was scoreless with Converse holding the edge in shots 8-3. The score remained the same until the 69th minute when Jabob Bandel took a pass from Guilherme Fontes and ripped a shot into the left side of the net to give Converse a 1-0 lead. That was short-lived, however as Emmanuel netted the equalizer 10 seconds later, via a Sergio Aspas Sanchis goal.
Emmanuel then took the lead on a Colin Wedderburn goal from Aspas Sanchis and Dylan Persinger. The Lions added another in the 84th minute on another goal from Aspas Sanchis with an assist to Brock Williams. Converse tallied another goal in the 90th minute, but couldn’t get another as Emmanuel took the contest.
Emmanuel now travels to take on third seed Chowan University at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.
No. 7 Mount Olive def. No. 10 King 2-1
King got off to a hot start as Eric Swain found Jadon Morgan who laced a shot into the upper left 90 to give the Tornado a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. The score remained the same until the 58th minute when Haythem Abraham netted the equalizer. Mount Olive then took the lead on a goal from Joao Barboza Filho in the 63rd minute. That was all the Trojans need as they took the contest 2-1.
Mount Olive now travels to second seed and 12th-ranked Young Harris College on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Young Harris, Georgia.
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2025 Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship
First Round – Wednesday, November 5 (Higher Seed Hosts)
No. 8 Lees-McRae def. No. 9 Belmont Abbey 3-0
BOX SCORE
No. 12 Ferrum def. No. 5 Barton 2-0
BOX SCORE
No. 11 Emmanuel def. No. 6 Converse 3-2
BOX SCORE
No. 7 Mount Olive def. No. 10 King 2-1
BOX SCORE
Quarterfinals – Saturday, November 8 (Higher Seed Hosts)
No. 8 Lees-McRae at No. 1 Francis Marion, 6:30 p.m.
No. 12 Ferrum at No. 4 North Greenville, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Emmanuel at No. 3 Chowan, 7:00 p.m.
No. 7 Mount Olive at No. 2 Young Harris, 6:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, November 13 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner of 1-8-9 vs. Winner of 4-5-12, 3:30 p.m.
Winner of 3-6-11 vs. Winner of 2-7-10, 6:30 p.m.
Final – Saturday, November 15 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2, 2:00 p.m.