FLORENCE, SC –Sophomore Alex Doulos scored on a 9-yard shot with 3:02 remaining to lift seventh-ranked Coker University to a wildly entertaining 4-3 non-conference win over Francis Marion University, Wednesday night (Sept. 15) in a men's college soccer action.
 
The match-up between the two local rivals was knotted 1-1 at halftime, but featured four goals in the final 18:37.
 
Francis Marion (1-3-1) will take to the road this Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. Conference Carolinas match at South Wesleyan University in Central, S.C.  The next home match for the Patriots will be Sept. 25 against Converse University at 7:30 p.m.
 
FMU senior defender Sam Pollard put Francis Marion up 1-0 at the 11:04 mark with a 21-yard free kick that nestled into the far-side netting.
 
Jacques Fokam-Sandeu scored the first of his two goals in the 38th minute to level the match at 1-1.  Halftime would arrive with the score still deadlocked.  Fokam-Sandeu's second score, a header off a service from Gustavo Palmieri, put Coker (4-0-0) up 2-1 at the 54:46 mark.
 
Patriot senior midfielder Oliver Peters corralled a loose ball in the box and knocked home a 14-yard attempt to again tie the score, this time at 2-2 with under 19 minutes remaining.
 
Coker's Felix Stoeffler intercepted a pass from the FMU defensive back and scored on a 21-yard blast in the 73rd minute, but Francis Marion again answered with a tying tally. Junior defender John Castro curled a service in from the right sideline where graduate student Gabrielle Cavarero laid the ball off to junior forward Alvaro Zamora, who was then successful on an 11-yard shot at 77:19.
 
An offside call against the Patriots in the 81st minute nullified a possible scoring opportunity by junior Javier Bello.  The match-deciding sequence began with a free kick from near midfield by Adam Kennedy.  His service found the feet of defender Bastiaan Jager at the top of the 6-yard box and he settled the ball to Doulos for his match-winner.
 
Less than 35 seconds later, FMU had another opportunity to knot the score and possibly force overtime.  Peters dribbled hard in to the left side of the penalty area drawing Coker goalkeeper Jasper Rump out of his goal, but Peter's cross was just beyond the reach of FMU freshman forward Nick Huenig, who would have faced an empty goal.
 
Coker outshot Francis Marion 16-8 and led 8-4 in corner kicks. 
 
FMU junior goalkeeper Alexander Schulze recorded three saves, while Rump made one stop – that on a diving header by Pollard in the 81st minute.

 
 
#7 Coker University (4-0-0) def. Francis Marion Univ. (1-3-1) 4-3
Date: 09/15/21      Attendance: 100
Weather: Threatening skies, but no rain, 84 degrees
 
Goals by period         1  2  Tot
Coker University..  ..  1  3 -  4
Francis Marion Univ.  1  2 -  3
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0.  11:04 FMU Sam Pollard (1) (unassisted) - Free kick 21 yards out from right of cen
1-1.  37:07 COKER Fokam-Sandeu, Jacque (4) (Doulos, Alex) - Through ball, 7-yard shot from right sid
2-1.  54:46 COKER Fokam-Sandeu, Jacque (5) (Palmieri, Gustavo) - Service from right side, header from 9 y
2-2.  71:23 FMU Oliver Peters (1) (unassisted) - 14-yard shot off loose ball in box
3-2.  72:55 COKER Stoeffler, Felix (2) (unassisted) - Intercepted pass from back, 21-yard shot
3-3.  77:19 FMU Alvaro Zamora (2) (Gabrielle Cavarero;John Castro) - served into box, touch pass, 11-yard sho
4-3.  86:58 COKER Doulos, Alex (1) (Kennedy, Adam;Jager, Bastiaan) - Service from free kick near midfield, se
 
Shots: Coker 16, Francis Marion 8 ; Saves: Coker 1 (Jasper Rump 1), Francis Marion 4 (Alexander Schulze 3)