Francis Marion Wins Dramatic PBC Men's Soccer Final 1-0 in Double Overtime

The Francis Marion Patriots captured the 2008 PBC men’s soccer tournament championship in dramatic fashion on Sunday night as senior back Willie Hunt headed in the game’s only goal in the 107th minute of double-overtime to give the Patriots a 1-0 win over Lander. The championship is the second in FMU’s history in the Peach Belt and their first since 1999.

Hunt’s heroics came after both sides had good opportunities to score in the overtime periods. FMU began the second overtime pressing the ball hard towards the Lander goal and were awarded a corner kick at 101:37. That kick did not produce the game-winning goal, but did produce another corner kick that Adrian Sikorski sent to Hunt, who put it past diving Lander keeper Billy Hale for the score.

Lander began the game as the aggressor, outshooting FMU 7-1 in the first 45 minutes, but not generating any significant scoring chances. The Patriots maintained possession through most of the first period, trying to advance up the field with quick passes while Lander relied on counter punching to generate their shots.

The second half saw the intensity increase as both teams opened up their offenses. The two were even on shots 5-5 but each had greater potential to lead to a score. Lander’s Jamie Davison and Ivan Stoykov both had shots sail just a few feet wide of the goal while Francis Marion’s Emerson Peredo and Kyle Clinton also had excellent scoring chances.

That intensity carried into the first overtime as both teams once again had good looks. Lander got off two shots in the first five minutes of the extra session, but both were stopped by FMU goalkeeper Clark Richeson, who made eight saves in the game. FMU came back with a pair of on-goal shots from Hunt, both of which were rejected by Lander’s keeper Billy Hale. Hale finished the game with five saves.

Lander held the overall shots advantage 17-10 but Francis Marion made up for that with a 12-4 edge in corner kick, including the game-winner.

Hunt was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his championship-winning goal. Lander was making their 13th PBC finals appearance. Both teams will now await Monday’s announcement of the 32 teams in the NCAA Tournament. There are no automatic bids in men’s soccer.

All-Tournament Team

Diego Castillo, UNC Pembroke
Leighton Frederics, Clayton State
Derek Schicker, Georgia Southwestern
Troy Watson, USC Aiken
John Lesko, USC Aiken
Stephen Smith, North Georgia
Avram Allen, North Georgia
Craig Hughes, Lander
Jamie Ramm, Lander
Adam Arthur, Lander
Juan Rivas, Francis Marion
Kyle Clinton, Francis Marion
Clark Richeson, Francis Marion

Tournament MVP
Willie Hunt, Francis Marion