MURFREESBORO, NC – First-half goals by Juan Salazar Lopez and Edorta Cabieces carried Francis Marion University to a 2-1 road win over the conference pre-season favorite Chowan University, Saturday afternoon (Sept. 21) in Conference Carolinas men's soccer action.
 
Francis Marion ups its overall record to 3-1-2 and goes to 2-0 in league play.  The Patriots are unbeaten in five matches after a season-opening loss.  Chowan, which won the conference tournament title last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, falls to 1-3-1 and 0-2-0.
 
FMU will return home to host Barton College for a conference tilt on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Hartzler Field.
 
The Patriots led in shots 20-15, while the Hawks held a slight 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
 
Francis Marion grabbed an early 1-0 advantage when Lopez scored into the lower left corner at the 6:02 mark.  The goal was assisted on by forward John Osadolor.  Osadolor also led FMU with five shots.
 
The margin doubled to 2-0 at 24:51 when forward Edorta Cabieces scored off an assist from Antonio Garda.  Francis Marion outshot the Hawks 11-3 over the opening 45 minutes.
 
Chowen drew to within 2-1 at 77:21, when Junior Smith converted a penalty kick.  The Hawks did manage three more shots over the final 12:39, but none were on frame.
 
FMU goalkeeper Alberto Aragoneses Lablanca recorded five saves, while Chowan's Chase Jansen tallied nine.