Hickory, N.C. –  The Francis Marion University Women's Soccer Team held off a furious late rally to defeat Lenoir-Rhyne College, 1-0, in a match Sunday afternoon at Bears Field.  L-R (1-1-2) suffered its first lose of the year while Francis Marion (1-1), an NCAA Division I Provisional Member, picked up its first win of the 2005 season.

The Lady Patriots' Brittany Rothenbach (Bel Air, Md.) scored what would be the match's lone goal early on in the 15th minute of play.  In front of the net, several players on both teams were trying to gain control of the ball in front of the net when Rothenbach finally came away with it and scored from the right side off several deflections.

Francis Marion, which totaled 12 of its 13 shots in the match before intermission, were kept at bay the rest of the way by L-R sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Ley (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista HS).  Ley stopped six shots, all in the first half.

The Bears went on the offensive after halftime, out-shooting the Patriots 8-1 in the second half, but could not score.  An open shot by Lenoir-Rhyne freshman forward Vanessa Szewczuk (Orlando, Lenoir-Rhyne next plays at Anderson College in Anderson, S.C., Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., while FMU plays at Mercer next Sunday in Macon, Ga., beginning at 3 p.m.