Patriots clip Falcons 4-2 behind strong second-half push
Sophomore Chris Foltanski came off the Francis Marion University bench and tallied a goal and an assist on two second-half scores to help lift the Patriots to a 4-2 win over Pfeiffer University, Sunday afternoon (Sept. 7) in non-conference men's college soccer action.
FMU (1-2-1) picks up its first win of 2008 and will next face Carson-Newman College on the road, Saturday at 7 p.m.
FMU freshman Emerson Peredo scored his first collegiate goal in the fifth minute to give Francis Marion an early 1-0 lead. A cross from Jared Beauchamp eluded the Pfeiffer goalkeeper and Peredo received the ball and found the net on a 10-yard shot.
Despite having several more serious scoring opportunities, FMU settled for the 1-0 advantage at halftime. In the final half, senior Willie Hunt scored on a short 6-yard shot at 52:36 to put the Patriots up 2-0. His score followed a serve from Foltanski and a header pass from Kyle Clinton.
The margin grew to 3-0 when Foltanski scored on an 8-yard shot at 56:52 that was a result of a long pass from Clinton and a well-placed cross from Alden Brooks.
Pfeiffer (0-3-0) drew to with 3-1 when a streaking Kash Knight took a pass from Renato Barbosa and beat FMU sophomore goalkeeper Clark Richeson to his left with a 13-yard shot. Pfeiffer nearly scored again in the 62nd minute when a serve from Barbosa bounced in front of Richeson, went past him, then bounced off Richeson's head as he dove for the ball and then deflected off the left post before it was cleared by a Patriot defender.
Patriot sophomore Juan Rivas, an All-Region selection in 2007, responded with his first goal of the year to give Francis Marion a 4-1 lead. His score came on an 8-yard shot at 65:17 that followed a cross to the middle of the box from freshman Adrian Sikorski.
Barbosa had another chance to score when he got behind the Patriots defense with 16 minutes remaining, but Richeson made the key stop.
Falcon senior Wilver Menacho accounted for the final goal when he scored on a 15-yard shot off an assist from Chris Venable with 12:22 left in the match.
Richeson finished with four saves, while Pfeiffer sophomore Alex Moreno made three stops. Pfeiffer outshot the Patriots 14-12, but FMU had a slight 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Pfeiffer University (0-3-0) vs. Francis Marion Univ. (1-2-1)
Date: Sep 07, 2008 Attendance: 82 ; Weather: Sunny, Hot 85, Very humid, Field soggy
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Pfeiffer University. 0 2 - 2
Francis Marion Univ. 1 3 - 4
1-0. 4:11 FMU Peredo, Emerson (1) (Beauchamp, Jared) - cross eludes GK 10yd shot
2-0. 52:36 FMU Hunt, Willie (1) (Clinton, Kyle;Foltanski, Chris) - cross, header, turn and 6yd shot
3-0. 56:52 FMU Foltanski, Chris (1) (Clinton, Kyle;Brooks, Alden) - long pass, cross, 8yd shot
3-1. 59:47 PFEIF Knight, Kash (1) (Barbosa, Renato) - pass ahead, 13yd shot
4-1. 65:17 FMU Rivas, Juan (1) (Sikorski, Adrian) - cross to middle of box, turn 8yd shot
4-2. 77:38 PFEIF Menacho, Wilver (1) (Venable, Chris) - 15yd shot
Shots: Pfeiffer 14, Francis Marion 12 ; Saves: Pfeiffer 3 (Moreno, Alex 3), Francis Marion 4 (Richeson, Clark 4)
