FLORENCE, S.C. – The Catawba College men's soccer team's unbeaten start to the 2024 season was snapped in a 3-1 non-conference loss at Francis Marion on Wednesday night.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (1-1-3) was out-shot for the first time this season, losing the overall battle 9-7 with shots on goal at 6-3 favoring the Patriots (2-1-2)

- The Catawba Indians earned 26 free kicks as the hosts committed 18 fouls and were whistled for eight offside violations, compared to Catawba's seven fouls and one offside

- Francis Marion finished with a 10-3 edge in corner kicks, a category in which Catawba was ranked second nationwide last week

- Catawba received greater contribution off the bench than FMU with 22 players seeing the field against the Patriots' 16

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Bautista Vecchi-Ramello found the twine for the third time in as many matches

- The sophomore forward led Catawba in shots with three as Sebastia Cerda-Tous and Sioni Benham also booted on-goal attempts

- Freshmen Garrett Alban and Hugo Tejera were credited with their first career shots

- Zak Stiffler made four stops during his 90 minutes in goal, moving to 1-1-2 on the year

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- The Patriots struck first in the fifth minute when Martin Juanche Gomez's corner kick was deflected in the goal box into the net

- Two FMU corner kicks in the following minutes were knocked away by Catawba

- Stiffler turned away a 16th-minute shot from Camilo Salazar, but John Osadolor's 18th-minute header found paydirt

- After Catawba's kickoff, FMU aimed to settle possession into its backfield but Vecchi-Ramello intercepted a pass in stride, eluding the goalkeeper to put in his third goal of the season

- Catawba had possession for 53 percent of the period as nearly half of that time was spent in the defensive midfield

Second Half

- Three offside fouls in the opening five minutes did not hinder the Patriots who also gained a trio of corner kicks, but no shots developed from the chances

- A couple of passes by Juan Herrera and Edorta Cabieces led to Osadolor sending in a header at the six-yard box to secure a brace, widening the gap to 3-1

- Benham re-entered in the match's 65th minute and fired upon the FMU goal, the Catawba Indians' first on-target shot of the half

- Vecchi-Ramello, Tejera, and Alban saw late attempts sail wide as the Patriots held off the visitors' charge to mark consecutive wins at Hartzler Field

UP NEXT

Catawba resumes South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday, Sep. 21 against Lincoln Memorial. Kickoff in Harrogate, Tenn. is slated for 4 p.m.