FLORENCE, SC – Senior Craig Hughes scored the go-ahead
goal in the 50th minute and Lander University held off a furious
Francis Marion University rally in the final 60 seconds to claim a
2-1 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Patriots, Monday
afternoon (Oct. 18) in men's college soccer action.
Lander has won six of its last seven matches and improves to
8-5-0 overall and 6-0-0 in the PBC, while Francis Marion falls to
5-8-1 and 2-4-0.
The Patriots will play at USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7:30
p.m. Lander travels to North Greenville College the same
night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
FMU took a 1-0 lead at the 18:02 mark when freshman forward Justin Walton
converted his first career goal. The sequence began with Shane
McConlogue playing a through ball to Chris Foltanski, who beat
one defender and then crossed the ball to the middle of the 18-yard
box where Walton one-touched it into the net from five yards
out.
Lander tied the match with 54 seconds left before
halftime. Senior midfielder Jamie Davison collected a loose
ball in the box and blasted a 12-yard shot past FMU senior
goalkeeper Clark
Richeson.
The Bearcat momentum continued into the second half as Lander
took a 2-1 lead on Hughes' tally at the 49:43 mark. Adam Wolf
started the scoring opportunity by dribbling toward the middle of
the field and then playing a diagonal ball outside to Aaron
Brittain who whipped a cross that found Hughes six yards from the
goal line.
Lander nearly upped the margin to two goals, but Wolf's very
short shot from directly in front of the goal chipped up and over
the crossbar in the 77th minute.
The Patriots rallied and had several chances to force
overtime. Sophomore midfielder Chuy Cruz beat three
Lander defenders in the 86th minute, but his 15-yard attempt was
hit directly at Lander goalkeeper Matthew Atkinson, who made the
stop.
In the decisive final minute, Francis Marion played the ball
into the 18-yard box and a Lander player attempted to hit the ball
out, but it glanced up and off the crossbar and nearly came down
inside the goal. The ball then found its way to Walton, whose
12-yard shot was partially stopped by Atkinson, but FMU was awarded
a corner kick with 30 ticks left. On the corner, Richeson
advanced up the field and found the ball at his feet within 20
yards of the goal, but his shot was blocked by a Lander defender
with 22 seconds remaining. On one last attempt, the ball
found its way to Patriot defender Justin Kibler,
whose header bounced off the left post with six seconds left, but
would not have counted as FMU was called for being offside.
Thanks to that final action, Francis Marion outshot the Bearcats
10-9, but Lander held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Richeson finished with one save, while Atkinson registered
four saves.
Four of the Patriots' losses this season have been by one
goal.
The match was FMU's 5th-annual Passionately Pink for the Cure
Match, with funds and awareness being raised for Breast Cancer
Awareness.
Lander University (8-5-0 , 6-0-0) def. Francis Marion
Univ. (5-8-1 , 2-4-0) 2-1
Date: Oct 18, 2010 Attendance: 113
Weather: Mostly clear, 83 degrees
Goals by
period
1 2 Tot
------------------------------------
Lander University... 1 1 - 2
Francis Marion Univ. 1 0 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0. 18:02 FMU Walton, Justin (1) (Foltanski,
Chris;McConlogue, Shane) - played ahead, beat def, cross, 1-touch
in from 5 yds
1-1. 44:06 LU Davison, Jamie (3) (unassisted) - 12-yard
blast off loose ball in box
1-2. 49:43 LU Hughes, Craig (7) (Brittain, Aaron;Wolf, Adam)
- cross from right, 1-touch in from 6 yds
Shots: Lander University 9, Francis Marion Univ. 10
Saves: Lander University 4 (Atkinson, Matthew 4), Francis Marion
Univ. 1 (Richeson, Clark 1)
5th-annual Passionately Pink for the Cure Match
Justin Walton
