PREVIEW: Men's Soccer challenges Francis Marion in midweek bout

FLORENCE, S.C. – The Catawba College men's soccer team heads down to the Palmetto State for a non-conference matchup against Francis Marion on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out

- Catawba fell behind midway through the second half of its South Atlantic Conference opener against Carson-Newman, but Bautista Vecchi-Ramello delivered an 86th-minute strike to force a 1-1 draw

- Vecchi-Ramello fired four shots, two on goal, while Sebastia Cerda-Tous totaled a team-high five shots, all in the first half

- Jaime Serrano, Steven Lozano, and Tomas Noya held down the defense for all 90 minutes

- Zak Stiffler turned away three Eagle attempts in his fourth start of the year and third consecutive complete game

- The blue and white continued their trend of winning the shot and corner kick counts, booting 16 shots (13 in the opening period) with five corners

Starting with Stalemates

- The Catawba Indians have tied their opponent three times through the season's first two weeks

- Three draws, the program's highest mark since 2012, have never been amassed quicker in Catawba history

- In 2022, the NCAA amended its playing rules to halt competition at the end of regulation. Previously, a tied game went through two 10-minute overtime periods with a "golden goal" concluding the match. Teams could record a draw only by remaining tied after 110 minutes

Leading the Nation

- Catawba is the country's top team in corner kicks, taking 40 across four matches to average 10 per match

- The squad outnumbers Gannon, who boasts the second-highest total, by six kicks (34) as Palm Beach Atlantic follows by a boot on a per-game basis (9.00)

- With 18.75 shots per game, Catawba ranks seventh in Division II and first in the SAC

- In total, the side's 75 attempts are third nationally, just four away from leader Gannon

Stat Sheet Summary

- Vecchi-Ramello and Cerda-Tous share the team lead in scoring with two goals apiece

- Salano Birch and Kheynne Ona-Vera have each found the back of the net once

- Noya, Noah Sapsford, and Joe Bennett have provided Catawba's trio of assists

- A mainstay between the posts, Stiffler has a 1-0-2 record with eight saves and a .727 save percentage

All-Time Series

- Francis Marion holds a 6-10-1 advantage in the series that began in 1982

- The sides have not met since the 2015 season opener when the Patriots took a 4-0 win

- Catawba is 2-4 in matches at Hartzler Soccer Field, winning its last trip to Florence by a 2-1 margin in 2012

Scouting the Patriots

- FMU brings an even 1-1-2 record into the matchup, handing a 2-1 defeat to Southern Wesleyan on Saturday

- The Patriots' pair of draws came against teams in the United Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, tying No. 16 Clayton State, 1-1, before a scoreless draw with No. 5 Wingate – the Bulldogs rose to fourth per the latest USC release

- John Osadolor, an Oklahoma Christian transfer, paces the offense with two goals including the lone score against Clayton State. All five of the graduate student's shots have been on goal

- In the midfield, Mario Buelga has one goal and one assist while Camilo Salazar has two helpers

- Junior David Guevara has anchored the Patriot defense lately, spending all but six minutes of FMU's slate on the field

Follow Along

The match will be streamed on the Conference Carolinas Sports Network as live stats will be available on fmupatriots.com.