FLORENCE, SC – In a rematch of last year's Conference Carolinas Tournament final, preseason favorite Francis Marion University tied with the No.2 preseason choice Chowan University 1-1, Saturday evening (Sept. 13) in men's soccer play.
 
Francis Marion (0-1-2, 0-0-1) will continue conference play on Wednesday as the Patriots play at the University of Mount Olive for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
 
On Saturday, the two teams batted through a scoreless first half that featured only six combined shots.
 
FMU senior midfielder Toufik Najem's long blast in the 14th minute forced a leaping save by Chowan goalkeeper Lucas Kibrya that resulted in a Patriot corner kick as he pushed the ball over the crossbar.
 
Following a Hawks' corner kick, a shot in the box by Chowan defender Matty Doyle was saved off the goal line by FMU senior defender David Guevara at 27:46.  Chowan's Bradley Binns took a free kick from 21 yards out in the final 24 seconds that forced a sprawling save by Patriot goalie Juan Antonio Tripero Sanchez.
 
The second half featured nine combined shots, but the only ones on frame were the two scores.
 
Patriot forward Matteo Benistant fed a through ball to Najem for a successful shot from near the penalty spot at the 59:57 mark to give FMU a 1-0 advantage.
 
Seven minutes later, on the match's next attempt, Chowan midfielder Jeevan Purewal collected a loose ball in the box and hammered home a left-footed 13-yard shot just inside the near post to knot the score at 1-1.
 
Francis Marion's best opportunity to capture a late result came in the 88th minute when midfielder Othmane Karoumi was high on an 11-yard attempt.
 
Francis Marion outshot the Hawks 9-6 and led 4-3 in corner kicks.  Tripero Sanchez and Kibrya both finished with one save.
 
In 13 all-time meetings between the two programs, only one score separates the two goal totals (18-17).