HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- Fourth-ranked Coker University defeated Tusculum University 3-1 in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon.
The Cobras (7-0-0, 2-0-0 SAC) scored all three of their goals in a span of 21 1/2 minutes in the second half, while holding the Pioneers (1-4-1, 0-2-1 SAC) without a shot on goal until Ignacio Alconchel tallied his fifth of the season for Tusculum with 2:28 left.
Coker outshot Tusculum 21-10 in the match, including a 16-6 margin in the second half. Che Richards, Gustavo Palmieri and Jacques Fokam-Sandeu scored the goals for the Cobras, who went up 3-0 before Alconchel spoiled the shutout bid in the final three minutes.
The first half saw little offense for either team. Coker's Bastiaan Jager put a header high off a corner kick in the fifth minute, and Tusculum's Levi Vasconscelos rang a shot square off the crossbar in the 13th minute. Pedro Concheso volleyed a shot wide of the target in the 27th minute for the Pioneers, and the only shot on goal of the half came from 20 yards by Luca Leonini of Coker in the 39th minute which was grabbed by Tusculum keeper Bruno De Freitas.
Coker opened the scoring early in the second half as a shot from just outside the six by Fokam-Sandeu was saved by De Freitas, but Richards followed up to deposit the rebound for his first goal of the season at 46:54.
Both teams picked up the offensive pace following the goal by Richards, but the Coker defense blocked shots from Jean-Pierre Vital and Alconchel, while Coker's Markos Touroukis had his shot in the 59th minute stopped by De Freitas.
The Cobras went up 2-0 at 66:02 as Palmieri split the Tusculum defense and rifled home his first goal of the season. Just over two minutes later, Fokam-Sandeu was fouled in the box and stepped up to convert the penalty past a diving De Freitas for his sixth goal of the season at 68:29.
Coker nearly went up 4-0 with under four minutes to play, but a shot from Touroukis was cleared off the line by Tusculum defender Alejandro De Mingo. Tusculum finally got on the board with 2:28 remaining as a long free kick was collected by Alconchel, who beat backup keeper Justin Watkins for his fifth goal of the season.
Tusculum had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks, while Coker was called for 13 fouls to 12 by the Pioneers. De Freitas had five saves for the Pioneers, and Jasper Rump and Watkins combined for zero saves for the Cobras. Rump played the first 77 minutes while Watkins came on for the final 13 minutes of play.
The Pioneers will resume their SAC schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at Carson-Newman, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
