DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College men's soccer team (2-0, 2-0 CC) earned a 2-0 victory in its home opener against Lees-McRae College (0-3, 0-2 CC) on Sunday afternoon at Huggins Field. Freshmen Carlos Portas and Tobias Rawson found the back of the net in the first half, and another freshmen, Evan Zizek, picked up a clean sheet and a win in his first home match as a member of the Fleet.
 
THE ESSENTIALS 
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THE SERIES
The Bobcats still lead the all-time series 10-7-1, but Erskine has now won the last two meetings between the teams.

THE MATCH
The Fleet wasted no time putting their imprint on the match, flying into challenges and passing the ball around with real intent from kickoff. And Erskine's early efforts paid dividends as the Fleet opened the scoring in just the sixth minute when Carlos Portas gained possession in the Bobcats' half, made a driving run into the penalty box, and fired a low shot which snuck underneath the Lees-McRae goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give Erskine an early 1-0 lead as Portas became the first Fleet player to score in the 2021 season. The Fleet controlled possession for much of the first half, limiting the Bobcats to just two shots. And the Fleet doubled their lead right before the halftime break when Tobias Rawson fired home a rebound off Fernando Gonzalez's initial shot as Erskine took a 2-0 lead into the half. After the Fleet outshot Lees-McRae 10 to 4 in a dominant first half, the Bobcats responded outshooting Erskine 7 to 6 in the second half. But the Fleet were stout defensively and a superb Zizek save in the 89th minute preserved a clean sheet and a 2-0 Erskine victory in their home opener.
 
MAN OF THE MATCH
Carlos Portas tallied a game-high six shots, three of which were on goal, and opened the scoring with a sixth minute goal that gave the Fleet an early lead.
 
THE TEAM
The Fleet totaled 16 shots, with eight being on goal. Erskine collected six corner kicks and Fleet goalkeeper Evan Zizek made five saves.
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fleet are back on the road next Sunday as they take on Southern Wesleyan University (0-2, 0-2 CC) at 4:30 p.m. The Warriors have been outscored 23-0 in their first two conference matches of the season, and Erskine leads the all-time series 5-3-1 including a 7-1 home victory back in November 2019, the last time the teams met.
 
MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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