FLORENCE, S.C. – The Francis Marion University men’s and women’s soccer teams will both be in the greater Atlanta area this weekend for matches.
The seventh-seeded Patriot men (8-10-1) will play in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals, Saturday at Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga. The FMU women (5-7-1) will play in the Independent Cup, Saturday and Sunday in Kennesaw, Ga.
The Francis Marion men will play third-seeded and 18th-ranked USC Upstate (12-2-2) in Saturday’s second semifinal match at 2:30 p.m. Top-seeded and ninth-ranked Clayton State (11-3-4) will play fifth-seeded North Georgia College & State University (10-5-2) in the first semifinal at noon. The championship match is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. on CSU’s Laker Field.
FMU shocked second-seeded and 17th-ranked UNC Pembroke in Wednesday’s first round, advancing via a penalty kick shootout. USC Upstate advanced with a 3-1 first-round victory over USC Aiken.
USC Upstate leads the all-time series with Francis Marion 17-4-0, including a 3-0 win on Sept. 24 in Spartanburg. However, the Patriots have won two of the three PBC Tournament meetings with the Spartans. FMU is 9-13-2 all-time in Peach Belt Tournament competition, including winning the 1999 event.
PBC Tournament action can be followed online at http://athletics.clayton.edu/msoc/pbc/05_pbc_championship.htm
The Francis Marion women will play the University of Northern Colorado (5-9-2), Saturday at 2 p.m. at Kennesaw State University’s 1,200-seat soccer complex. The Patriots will then conclude their first season of NCAA Division I competition by facing the host Owls (12-3-1) on Sunday at 4 p.m.
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Francis Marion University