Coker Men's Soccer Cruises Past Belmont Abbey for First Win

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker University men's soccer team picked up their first win of the 2019 season with a 4-0 victory over the Belmont Abbey College Crusaders on Wednesday (Sept. 11) in a non-conference match. 

The Cobras were able to bounce back with a statement win on the road. The Cobras came out firing in the first half finding the back of the net in the 24^thminute when Christian Provenzano escaped the Crusader defense, firing a shot into the bottom left corner to give Coker an early 1-0 lead. Right before halftime in the 43^rdminute, freshman Jacques Fokam-Sandeu got past his man and fired a cross pass to Etzikel Martinez who poked it in giving the Cobras a 2-0 advantage heading into the half.

The second half proved to be more of the same as the Coker offensive attack continued to dictate the match. The Cobras were awarded a corner kick in the 54^thminute, which provided their first scoring opportunity of the half. Riccardo Ricci placed the ball by the near post, after a scramble for the loose ball Robi Obrstar was at the right place at the right time, sticking it into the near post expanding the Coker lead to 3-0. 

The fourth and final goal of the match came in the 86^thminute when Obrstar beat two Crusader defenders and played a low 40-yard ball that split the defense, finding Fokam-Sandeu who glided past two more defenders sliding the ball past opposing goalkeeper Evan Morrow. The Cobras had 21 total shots in the match, with five coming from Provenzano and four by Fokam-Sandeu. Steffen Husum, Ricci, Lucas Miquel Castrillo, and Markos Touroukis each had two shots. 

"Fantastic all-around team performance today," said head coach Michael Antoniewicz. "After losing our first match, it felt great to bounce back with a win. Now all of our focus is on Saturday's home match against Mount Olive."

The Cobras will be back in action on Saturday (Sept.14) when they play host to the University of Mount Olive Trojans in the first home match of the 2019 campaign. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Coker Athletic Field.