ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – Goals by junior defenders Magnus Hoejland and John Castro helped Francis Marion University earn a 2-2 tie on the road at Flagler College, Monday evening (Feb. 1) in Peach Belt Conference men's soccer action.
 
Francis Marion (0-0-1) will continue with its two-match road swing to open the season when FMU plays at Lander University on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.  The Patriots' home opener will be Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. against the University of North Georgia.
 
Flagler outshot FMU 19-12, but the Patriots held a 13-5 advantage in corner kicks, including nine during the second half.
 
FMU senior goalkeeper Maximiliano Rocco posted four saves in goal, while Flagler's Jared Marsano made five stops.
 
Al Cooper gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.  Francis Marion got back on even terms with a well-designed short corner in the 40th minute, one that was earned by an extra-effort play by junior forward Nils Gulbranson near the Saints' goal.  The corner kick, taken short, ended up at the feet of hard-charging defender Sam Pollard who served the ball into the box and to the feet of sophomore Alvaro Zamora.  Zamora's shot was denied at close range by Marsano, but Hoejland was there to score on the rebound.
 
Rocco kept the match even with a leaping save that pushed a Flagler shot over the crossbar in the 70th minute.
 
A string of three corner kicks in a span of just over a minute led to Castro's first tally as a Patriot.  Following the third corner being delivered into the box, he knocked home a loose ball from six yards out at the 72:16 mark. However, that 2-1 advantage lasted only 4:06 before Chris Stokes scored off a long free kick to tie the score at 2-2.
 
A shot by Zamora was blocked in the 82nd, while a Flagler attempt in the final seconds went wide of the goal leaving the two squads to take their season-opening match into overtime.
 
The relatively uneventful first 10-minute extra session featured only two shots (one by each squad) and one corner kick (by FMU).
 
In the second overtime, Rocco registered a save on a bending shot from the left side by Flagler's Zach Dapaah at 102:45, and snagged a Saints' attempt with 20 seconds left.  Castro had a header that sailed high and over the cross bar with 4:02 left in the second overtime period, while Zamora forced a save by Marsano with 2:18 remaining.
 
Zamora accounted for six of the Patriots' 12 shots.
 
 
Francis Marion Univ. (0-0-1, 0-0-1 PBC) ties Flagler (0-0-1, 0-0-1 PBC) 2-2 in OT
Date: Feb 01, 2021  Attendance: 50
Weather: 47 and cloudy
 
Goals by period         1  2 OT O2  Tot
---------------------------------------------------
Francis Marion Univ.  1  1  0  0 -  2
Flagler.............         1  1  0  0 -  2
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0.  29:45 FLG Al Cooper (1) (Jared Fuentes) - tapped in left corner of goal
1-1  39:56 FMU Magnus Hoejland (1) (Alvaro Zamora) - goal off tap of rebound and pass
2-1.  72:16 FMU John Castro (1) (unassisted) - knocked in loose ball in front of net
2-2.  76:22 FLG Chris Stokes (1) (Joran Osland) - knocked off free kick
 
Shots: Francis Marion 12, Flagler 19; Saves: Francis Marion 4 (Maximiliano Rocco 4), Flagler 5 (Jared Marsano 5)