FLORENCE, SC - Junior Jared Beauchamp and sophomore Juan Rivas
scored first-half goals and Francis Marion University went on to
claim a 2-0 Peach Belt Conference road win at UNC Pembroke,
Wednesday night (Oct. 1) in men's soccer action.
Francis Marion moves into sole possession of first place in the
Peach Belt at 2-0-1, while evening its overall record at 4-4-2 with
its third consecutive shutout victory. The win snaps a
four-game losing string and seven-game winless streak for FMU
against UNCP that dated back to 2003. The Braves fall to 5-4-1 and
0-1-0.
FMU fired off the first four shots of the match. Freshman Adrian
Sikorski's shot attempt - the fifth unanswered strike for the
visitors, in the 21st minute, would have sailed wide left, but a
sliding Beauchamp finished off the scoring opportunity to put the
Patriots up 1-0. It was Beauchamp's third goal of the season,
while Sikorski now has assists in each of the last three matches.
Only 3:15 later, Rivas doubled the margin to 2-0 when he
collected Ivan Juric's deflected pass off a UNCP defender and found
himself in a one-on-one situation with Braves netminder Horatio
Bynes. Rivas would get the better end of the challenge, dribbling
right before firing a shot to his left and into the back of the
net.
FMU sophomore goalkeeper Clark Richeson made three saves en
route to his second straight complete match shutout. He
stopped a penalty kick by UNCP's Davis Stephenson late in the first
half. The Patriots have not allowed a goal in their last
300:15.
UNCP did outshoot Francis Marion 14-12, but that was due to an
11-5 advantage in the second half. UNCP also led in corner
kicks 3-1.
UNCP's Rondell Honora nearly cut the deficit in half on a 55th
minute shot that caught the crossbar, and Miguel Ferrer nearly
scored when he collected the rebound, but his strike was stopped by
a diving Richeson. The Braves would record six of the game's final
eight shots but, each time, were kept off the board on defensive
blocks or by Richeson saves.
Francis Marion will play host to Lincoln Memorial University on
Saturday at 2 p.m.
