The national championship dream for Lees-McRae College was dashed by a goal from Fort Lewis' David Barden, his fifth game-winning goal of the season, in the 78th minute as the Skyhawks outlasted the Bobcats 1-0 in Saturday's NCAA Division II Men's Soccer National Championship contest.The match was scoreless through the first half of play in a defensive affair. Fort Lewis scored the lone goal of the afternoon when Kyle Wood assisted on the Barden tally. Lees McRae managed 11 shots on goal compared to 14 for the Skyhawks, and keeper Sean Paradise made six saves in goal.
Lees-McRae enjoyed a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks for the match, and were whistled for 14 fouls in the match, while Fort Lewis was whistled 12 times. Neither team managed a clean sheet for the match, as the Bobcats were carded on three occasions, while the Skyhawks received a pair of yellow cards.
The Bobcats end their terrific and historic men's soccer season as national runners-up with a sterling 18-3-2 record.
