AMERICUS, GA – Sophomore Levin Sandmann scored twice in the opening 23 minutes and senior Sven Ricke set a new school record for career assists as Francis Marion University blew past Georgia Southwestern State University 5-1, Saturday afternoon (Oct. 24) in Peach Belt Conference men’s soccer action.

The victory lifts Francis Marion (10-4-1 overall, 5-3-0 in the PBC) into a tie for third place in the Peach Belt standings.  FMU is deadlocked with Lander University, a squad the Patriots will conclude their conference slate with next Saturday (Oct. 31) in Greenwood, S.C.  Before that match, Francis Marion will step out of conference action to play at Anderson University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Ricke assisted on Francis Marion’s first and fourth goals to give him 28 career assists, snapping a tie with former Patriot great Dzevat Nikocaj in the FMU record book.

Sandmann opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he knocked in a cross from Ricke. He doubled the margin at the 22:10 mark, heading in a cross from freshman Anton Jonsson.  Sandmann leads the Patriots with eight goals scored this season.

Sophomore Harrison Smith capitalized on his own shot that was stopped by converting a rebound goal at 26:25 to up the Patriot lead to 3-0.

Only 1:07 into the second stanza, FMU sophomore Gael Mabiala scored off a Ricke corner kick to push the margin to 4-0.  Ricke now has 12 assists this season, only one shy of the FMU single-season mark of 13 set by Vince Myers in 1978.

Georgia Southwestern tallied its lone goal when Daniel Mendsen knocked home the rebound of Brennan Bauschka’s indirect kick at the 77:02 mark.  Twenty-four seconds later, Francis Marion was awarded a penalty kick and sophomore Andrew Kephart converted from the spot for the final goal of the contest.

In reaching double-digit wins for the third straight year, Francis Marion outshot the Hurricanes 22-8 and led 6-2 in corner kicks.

FMU freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Mannes returned to the Patriot net minding duties and registered two saves, while recording his ninth win.  Two GSW goalkeepers combined for 11 stops, with Garrett Blamire making seven saves in 51 minutes and Joshua Swift four in 39 minutes.

The five goals are the most recorded by the Patriots in a true road match in eight seasons.

 

Francis Marion Univ. (10-4-1, 5-3-0 PBC) def. Georgia Southwestern (1-10-2, 0-7-1 PBC) 5-1

Date: Oct 24, 2015  Attendance: 116

Goals by period            1  2  Tot

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Francis Marion Univ.    3  2 -  5

Georgia Southwestern  0  1 -  1

SCORING SUMMARY:

1-0.  12:55 FMU Levin Sandmann (7) (Sven Ricke) - cross in front, booted top left

2-0.  22:10 FMU Levin Sandmann (8) (Anton Jonsson) - header off a cross inside the box

3-0.  26:25 FMU Harrison Smith (5) (unassisted) - off own rebound

4-0.  46:07 FMU Gael Mabiala (4) (Sven Ricke) - off CK

4-1.  77:02 GSW Daniel Mendsen (1) (Brennan Bauschka) - rebound off indirect kick in front of goal

5-1.  77:26 FMU Andrew Kephart (1) Penalty kick

Shots: Francis Marion Univ. 22, Georgia Southwestern 8 ; Saves: Francis Marion Univ. 2 (Jonathan Mannes 2), Georgia Southwestern 11 (Joshua Swift 4; Garrett Blamire 7)