GREENWOOD, SC – Lander University junior midfielder Christian Mason scored two second-half goals Saturday (Sept. 23) to lead the 19th-ranked Bearcats to a 6-0 Peach Belt Conference men’s soccer victory over Francis Marion University.

Nick Cooke, Jamie Ramm, Seth Addison and Ivan Stoykov also scored goals for Lander, which improved to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the Peach Belt. Francis Marion fell to 3-4-1 and 1-1-1.

Lander outshot Francis Marion 32-8, and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. It was the largest margin of defeat for the Patriots in 12 seasons.

The Bearcats dominated the first half, keeping the ball on the Francis Marion side and out-shooting the Patriots 14-1.  Adam Arthur had Lander’s best early scoring chance when he drilled a shot just over the crossbar with 18:51 left in the half. The Bearcats finally broke through when Cooke got inside the box and scored off an assist from Arthur at 34:21.

Lander put the match away with three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half. The Bearcats pushed the lead to 2-0 six minutes into the second half on Ramm’s header off Martyn Bell’s assist. Bell’s corner kick sailed to the far post and Ramm headed it into the left corner of the net.

The Bearcats scored again less than five minutes later on an unassisted goal by Mason from about 20 yards out. Mason pushed the lead to 4-0 with 31 minutes left in the game off an assist from Cooke.

Lander substitutes scored two goals in the final five minutes. Addison scored on a header off an assist from James Clarke with 4:29 to go, and Ivan Stoykov scored the final goal off an assist from Andres Catlla with 3:25 left. Stoykov’s goal was a tap-in from close range into the right side of the net.

Garrett Daum recorded the shutout in goal for the Bearcats, collecting one save. Francis Marion sophomore goalkeeper Nick Krywyj had nine saves for the Patriots.

FMU will play a non-conference match at Mount Olive College, Wednesday at 4 p.m.