Francis Marion men win

FLORENCE, SC – Junior forward Juan Rivas used his head to ever so slightly touch in a service by Emerson Peredo 8:35 into the first overtime period to give Francis Marion(m) University a 2-1 win over USC Aiken, Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 21) in Peach Belt Conference men’s soccer action.

The Patriots, now 9-3-3 overall, climb into third place in the conference standings with a 4-1-2 mark. USCA falls to 4-10-1 and 1-6-0 with its seventh straight defeat.  Wednesday’s contest was Francis Marion’s annual Passionately Pink for the Cure Match, helping to raise funds for and awareness of breast cancer.

The Pacers took a 1-0 advantage in the fourth minute when freshman forward Brett Van Pelt took a pass from Fernando Gamez and flicked the ball into the net from 10 yards out.  The goal snapped a scoreless streak of 390:37 by Francis Marion junior goalkeeper Clark Richeson, the second-longest streak in team history.

Francis Marion answered at the 22:30 mark when sophomore Cameron Mabee scored on an 8-yard shot from the left side of the box.  Peredo also assisted on that tally.

Neither team mounted a serious scoring opportunity in the second half.

FMU nearly scored five minutes into overtime, but Chris Foltanski was unable to convert on an attempt in the six-yard box with the USCA goalkeeper out of position.  Only 1:38 later, the Pacers nearly converted the match-winner.  Richeson punched out a free kick by the Pacers and Van Pelt then headed the ball back toward the goal, but Richeson was able to recover and make the save.

USCA outshot Francis Marion 12-9 and held a commanding 11-1 edge in corner kicks.

Richeson finished with six saves, while USCA senior goalkeeper Andray Charles recorded two stops.

Francis Marion will play at Lincoln Memorial University on Saturday at 4 p.m., while USC Aiken plays host to Georgia Southwestern State University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.