HICKORY, N.C. - Sophomore forward Clement Samson scored a late goal but it was not enough as the Anderson men's soccer team opened South Atlantic Conference action with a 3-1 setback to Lenoir-Rhyne Sunday afternoon at the Moretz Sports - Athletic Complex.

Anderson (3-3-1, 0-1 SAC) surrendered a late first-half goal and was not able to recover as Lenoir-Rhyne (4-1, 1-0 SAC) collected a loose ball in the 61st minute and claimed a two-goal lead on Oriol Cotes' first goal of the season.

The Bears built their lead to 3-0 at 76:11 before the Trojans offense began to fire away, posting nine of its 18 shots on the afternoon in the final 10 minutes of play, with Samson, a 5-10 native of Vannes, France, pulling Anderson to within 3-1 as he notched his second goal of the season in the 81st minute of action off an assist from junior Scott Clapperton.

Clapperton nearly trimmed the deficit to a single goal less than a minute later but his shot caught the crossbar and junior Lasse Sohrweide's quick followup was wide.

AU forward Adrien Moufflet's shot with more than five minutes remaining also clipped the crossbar and the Trojans were unable to find the back of the net in the final moments of the contest.

Despite the late flurry by Anderson, the Bears held a 22-18 advantage in shots, including a 15-8 edge in corner kicks. LRU keeper Tom Heath recorded seven saves and collected the win, while Trojan sophomore Lukas Hesse posted 12 saves and absorbed the loss. Samson led AU with five shots and Sohrweide recorded three attempts on the afternoon.

Anderson steps out of conference action by playing host to USC Aiken on Wednesday, with kick-off slated for 4:30 p.m. at Trojan Stadium. The Pacers enter the contest looking for their first win of the 2010 season (0-4-1), while AU will be looking to return to the win column after dropping two of its last three decisions.