FMU’s Richeson racks up another PBC honor

FLORENCE — For the third straight week and fourth time this season, Francis Marion junior Clark Richeson has been named the Peach Belt Conference’s Goalkeeper of the Week.

He helped lead FMU to a pair of 2-1 wins last week, extending the Patriots’ unbeaten streak to six matches.

Despite having his scoreless streak in goal snapped at 390:37, his six saves helped Francis Marion beat USC Aiken 2-1 in overtime. That streak goes down as the second-longest in team history, behind a 481:05 streak that Richeson set in 2008. Later in the week, he posted four stops in a 2-1 road win at 23rd-ranked Lincoln Memorial.

The Mansfield, Texas, native continues to lead in goals against average (0.72), save percentage (.881), saves (89), and saves per match (5.56). Nationally, he is ranked fifth in Division II in save percentage and 17th in goals against average.

This is the seventh time in three seasons he has been honored with the weekly PBC award.

FMU, now 11-3-3 overall and fifth in the conference standings with a 4-1-2 mark and 14 points, will close out its regular season at Flagler on Saturday at 7 p.m. A win in that match will give the Patriots a home contest Tuesday in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference tournament.