DUE WEST, SC – Graduate student Gabrielle Cavarero registered a 22nd-minute goal and the Francis Marion University men's soccer team claimed a 1-0 road win at Erskine College on Saturday evening (Oct. 30) to claim the outright Conference Carolinas regular-season championship.
 
Francis Marion concludes its regular season with an 11-4-2 overall mark and an unbeaten 10-0-1 conference record.  FMU had previously clinched the No.1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament, which means that the Patriots will advance straight to the tournament semifinals to be held Nov. 12 at the Florence Soccer Complex.
 
Sophomore Matias Morales assisted on Cavarero's goal that came at the 21:19 mark. It was the midfielder's first score as a Patriot.  Prior to this week, he had played only 159 minutes in eight matches.  However, in two starts this week, he has played 110 minutes and in addition to Saturday's winner, he assisted on the winning goal in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Barton College.
 
FMU sophomore goalkeeper Riccardo Rossi remained unbeaten in his last 10 starts as he recorded one save in 61 minutes of action.  Sophomore Noah Craig made his first appearance in 2021 and finished the shutout by posting four saves in the final 29 minutes.
 
Erskine goalkeeper Evan Zizek registered one save as the Flying Fleet fell to 2-14-1 and 2-8-1.
 
Erskine outshot the Patriots 10-6, while FMU held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
FMU junior defender Sebastian Garcia nearly gave FMU a 1-0 advantage in the fifth minute, but his shot was cleared away from the goal by an Erskine defender.  Cavarero had an on-target attempt in the 13th minute that was stopped by Zizek.
 
The regular-season crown is the fourth in program history, joining the 2000, 2002, and 2008 squads that captured the Peach Belt Conference regular-season titles.  This is Francis Marion's first year as a member of Conference Carolinas.
 
 
Francis Marion Univ. (11-4-2, 10-0-1) def. Erskine (2-14-1, 2-8-1) 1-0
Date: 10/30/21      Attendance: 102
 
Goals by period           1  2  Tot
Francis Marion Univ.    1  0 -  1
Erskine.............          0  0 -  0
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0.  21:19 FMU Gabrielle Cavarero (1) (Matias Morales)
 
Shots: Francis Marion 6, Erskine 10 ; Saves: Francis Marion 5 (Riccardo Rossi 1; Noah Craig 4), Erskine 2 (Evan Zizek 1, Team 1)