Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Junior forward Erik Pajunk had a pair of assists for host Barton College in a 2-2 double overtime tie against Southeast Region foe Francis Marion University on Tuesday night at the Barton Outdoor Athletic Complex.
Both teams led in the seesaw battle before settling for the 110-minute draw. Barton (0-2-1 Overall) will continue its season-long, six-game home stand with a regional tilt against No. 24 nationally ranked UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, September 18 at 7 p.m. Francis Marion (1-0-1) remained undefeated on the early season.
Senior Archer Bane provided Barton with a 2-1 lead in the second half but a late tally by freshman Shahin Hemat leveled the score in the 76th minute. The Bulldogs had several chances to regain the lead in overtime including four shots on goal in the second 10-minute overtime without any success.
Barton's late push in front of a large home crowd included a three-shot flurry in a two-minute span. Bane had the first cracks at the golden goal starting in the 104th minute but both shots were stopped by FMU freshman goalie Nick Stover. Moments later, Pajunk riffled his game-high sixth shot from the far right wing but the low attempt curled just left of the far upright to keep the score even at the final horn.
Sophomore Joergen Tesdal gave the Patriots an early 1-nil advantage in the sixth minute. Junior Ben Kwast and senior Alex Blandin assisted on Tesdal's opening tally.
Junior midfielder Dante De Luca knotted the score at 1-1 with a header from the doorstep of the FMU goal on a pass from the left corner by Pajunk. De Luca has scored in two consecutive games for the Bulldogs.
Barton took its first lead of the season just after halftime. Pajunk nearly scored from in front of the goal in the 49th minute with a hard shot that was saved by Stover. Sophomore Kevin Strassburger quickly chipped the rebound off of Pajunk's shot from the left post to right post where Bane headed in his first goal of the year.
The Bulldogs led for nearly a half hour but the Patriots were pushing the tempo trailing by a goal. Francis Marion held a 14-5 shot advantage in the second half and eventually tied up the score with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. Hemat intercepted an unsuccessful clear by Barton off a FMU corner kick and launched a 25-yard strike into the back, right twine for the equalizer.
The visiting Patriots finished with a 23-18 shot edge and an 8-3 corner kick gain.
Barton senior goalie Vasily Yakimkin made a game-high eight saves including six stops in the second half. Pajunk, a 2011 All-American, picked up his first two points of the season with his two helpers.
Stover (1-0-1) was credited with seven saves and is undefeated in his first two collegiate appearances in net.
