ANDERSON, S.C. (Sept. 3) – The Trojans were unable to overcome an early second half goal and suffered a 1-0 loss at Anderson (S.C.) on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
 
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's soccer team falls to 2-2 overall after playing its third-consecutive road contest this season. Meanwhile, the Trojans improve to 1-2 this year after winning double-digit matches in 2021 and finishing runner-up in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Championship game.
 
In first half, sophomore goalkeeper Axel Engren was called into action early and pushed a save over the bar off a deflection in the 3rd minute of the contest. Anderson would continue to pressure the net in the initial 10-plus minutes of the match after sending in a pair of corner kicks and having two shots blocked by the UMO defense. Senior midfielder Pedro Franca had a pair of shots go wide left of the net in the 15th and 23rd minute, as both teams produced chances. Following a lightening delay in the closing minutes of the first half, both teams went into the break scoreless after the initial 45 minutes.
 
Anderson was able to breakthrough in the second half at the 55:14-mark after a through ball from graduate student Yani Diagne found sophomore Diego Jaramillo, who slotted it into the back of the net to take the 1-0 lead. Franca once again nearly scored in the 60th minute after his shot into the top-right corner was saved by the goalkeeper. Mount Olive was able to produce two opportunities in the closing minutes after junior midfielder Kevin Avila had a free kick saved in the 84 minute and senior midfielder Roberto Hernandez saw his shot stop in final 30 seconds of the match.
 
Engren collected four saves in the game on 13 shots faced while playing all 90 minutes.
 
Anderson held a 13-7 shot advantage, including a 5-3 lead in shots on goal, while also holding a 9-1 edge in corner kicks in the win.
 
The Trojans close out their four-game road trip on Wednesday, Sept. 7, when they open up conference play at Chowan with kickoff set for 4 p.m.