Ruben Gomez scored in the 82nd minute and Mount Olive made repeated challenges in the final minutes, but North Greenville held on to hand the Trojans a 2-1 loss in Conference Carolinas men's soccer Saturday at Amon Field. The match was the conference opener for both teams.

Mount Olive (0-5-0 overall, 0-1-0 Conference Carolinas) trailed 1-0 at halftime and played a man down the entire second half after a Trojan player was issued a straight red card late in the first half. The Trojans were able to stay within a goal until the 70th minute when Brandon Harrison captured a loose ball in front of the goal after Ara Zadoorian's shot hit the crossbar.

Trojan goalkeeper Aleksandar Drobac deflected Harrison's shot, but the ball rolled just across the goal line as North Greenville (3-3-0, 1-0-0) extended its lead to 2-0.

Gomez cut the Crusaders' lead in half as he captured his own deflection 10 feet in front of the left post. He shot past the keeper to make it a one-goal game again.

Tyler Vandevender sent a long-range shot that was about to hook inside the right post, but North Greenville goalkeeper Pablo Dongarra dove and deflected the ball away. The Trojans also had a pair of late corner kick opportunities that came up short.

Mount Olive had one last chance in the final 10 seconds with a throw-in from the left sideline deep in the Crusader third. The Trojans flicked the ball into the box, but nobody was able to get a foot on the ball. North Greenville cleared the ball out just before the final horn sounded.

North Greenville scored the first goal of the match on a penalty kick by Zadoorian in the 25th minute.

The Trojans had their best shot total of the season, outshooting the Crusaders 22-20. Drobac finished with eight saves for Mount Olive.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans travel to Wilson, N.C., to take on Barton in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Match time is 7 p.m.