HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- The 25th-ranked Tusculum College men's soccer team snapped a two-match losing streak with a 2-0 victory at Coker College in South Atlantic Conference action Tuesday afternoon.
Andre De Giorgi and Guillermo Lazcano scored first-half goals for the Pioneers (13-2-0, 8-2-0 SAC), who locked themselves into second place in the SAC standings with the win over the Cobras (6-7-1, 4-6-0 SAC). The match was originally scheduled for Oct. 8 but was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew.
Pioneer goalkeeper Jorge Alvarez made three saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season, including a stop on a penalty kick in the first 90 seconds. Tusculum outshot Coker 13-7 overall, including 6-1 in the first half when the Pioneers scored both of their goals.
Coker was awarded a penalty at 1:13 of the first half and the Cobras' Aladdin Elfares stepped up to take the kick, but Alvarez made the save to keep the match scoreless. Nearly 11 minutes later, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead as Pau Peiro made a cross from a severe angle to De Giorgi, who deposited his team-high 13th goal of the season at 12:07.
The Pioneers had a chance in the 30th minute off a corner kick, but Georgios Charkoutsakis sent a header wide of the goal. Tusculum notched its second goal at 40:57 as a free kick from Tyler Linkous was headed home by Lazcano for his third goal of the year.
In the second half, the Cobras had six shot attempts, but the only two shots on goal were stopped by Alvarez in the 71st and 85th minutes. Tusculum also put a pair of shots on goal in the second half, with both attempts saved by Coker keeper Michael Ritterbeck, who had three saves in the match.
Coker had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks and both teams were whistled for 13 fouls in the match. Neither team was flagged for offsides, and two of the three cautions shown were displayed to the Cobras.
Tusculum will conclude its regular season on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on the road against top-ranked Wingate, which is the only unbeaten and untied team in Division II at 13-0-0, including 10 wins in 10 conference matches.
