WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — After earning a one-goal victory in the regular season finale, the Freed-Hardeman University Lions battled the Cumberlands Patriots in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Mid-South Conference tournament. It was another one-goal contest, but FHU fell short of advancing to the semifinals in a 1-0 loss.
As the No. 5 seed of the tournament, the Lions (8-5-4) started fast offensively in the Wednesday match, with
Evans Osei Amankwah rocketing a shot in the first minute before
Noah Setterberg took a shot at 4:27. The fourth-seeded Patriots tested
Gaspar Bourdon once with the keeper getting the save, but the lone goal of the match came at 27:56 with a cross finding Leandro Nico Romero Protto for his 11th goal of the season.
The Patriots (7-6-4) were again tested by the Lions right out of the gate to start the second half when
David Hajduk's shot at 51:30 required a save. FHU's last chance came in the 82nd minute when Osei Amankwah's shot was saved by the UC keeper.
In the 2026 season, the Lions finished their third consecutive season with a winning record. FHU outscored their opponents 35-19 and were led by
Sam Sebagabo's six goals and
Henry Appiah's eight assists.
Gaspar Bourdon played all but 10:31 of the season between the pipes, recording 44 saves and four clean sheets.
