CENTRAL, S.C. – A handball in the box turned the tide for Southern Wesleyan as the Warriors pulled out a 2-0 win over Mount Olive in their regular season finale.

The Warriors (11-6, 5-5 CC) were handed a penalty kick after a handball in the box in the 50^th minute. Alejandro Sanchez stepped up and knocked home his sixth goal of the season and second on a penalty kick.  Just five minutes later Christian Taylor got behind everyone as UMO tried to set an offsides trap on the striker and beat keeper Nick Bernsdorf for his third goal of the year.

The Warriors got the offense on track in the second half, taking 12 shots after halftime and just seven in the first half.  SWU put more pressure on the Trojans and backup keeper Bernsdorf by putting eight shots on goal in the second half and just one on starting keeper Jared Miller in the first half.

Ruben Rodriguez recorded his fifth shutout of the season by making two saves and improved to 11-6 on the season.  Rodriguez wasn't challenged that often with the most danger coming on set pieces as Edrisa Chune tried to get his big body in front of Rodriguez and cause danger by out jumping the SWU back line and flicking the ball with his head.

The win assures the Warriors that they finish their first season in Conference Carolinas at 5-5 and in the middle of the 11-team standings.  If they were eligible to compete in the conference tournament, the Warriors were positioned to be anywhere from the 5-7 seed, depending on tiebreakers.

The Warriors will turn their attention to the NCCAA South Region Tournament as the defending Region and National Champions.  The region tournament is scheduled to begin around Nov. 19 and will be hosted by Chowan University.  As the field is set and bracket announced we'll bring you the details at swuathletics.com.

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