FLORENCE, SC – The Francis Marion University women's soccer team dropped its final home match of the year to Barton College on Tuesday (Oct. 17) by a score of 1-0.
        
The Patriots (7-3-3, 4-2-3) will be on the road this Saturday (Oct. 21) at 12 p.m. against Conference Carolinas newcomer Young Harris College.  A pair of road contests next week will close out the regular season slate.
 
The only score of the contest occurred in the 77th minute and was scored by Barton's Iris Gissuradottir. A deep throw-in from Josephine Curran skipped through and into the box where Gissuradottir put just enough on her shot from 11 yards out to edge the ball past FMU senior goalkeeper Makayla Willets.
 
Fighting for a tying goal throughout the second half, FMU had several scoring opportunities, with junior defender JG Garon leading with four shots. Junior forwards Lindsey Downey (53') and Le'Landra Jarvis (57') also had scoring attempts that forced Bulldog goalkeeper Cara Davis to make two saves.  The stop of Jarvis' attempt was a lunging kick save that denied the Patriots their best scoring chance of the night.
 
Francis Marion outshot Barton 11-9 and held the advantage in corner kicks, 8-3. FMU also held possession for most of the game with 57 percent.
 
Willets paced the Patriots with five saves, while Davis tallied five stops in the BC goal.   Willets made a leaping save of a 38-yard blast by Kassie Krul in the 26th minute and a diving stop of a 14-yard attempt by Krul in the 54th minute.
 
In the scoreless first half, FMU also threatened to get on the scoreboard.  Sophomore midfielder Izzy Ashley intercepted a pass in the 14th minute and fed a through ball to Downey that Davis came off her line to smother.  Garon and freshman Joy Brockmann served dangerous balls into the penalty area in the 22nd minute, but could not find the feet of any Patriots, and FMU senior midfielder Paula Sanabria scuffed a shot from 15 yards out in the 42nd minute that wondered outside the left post.
 
Willets has 275 career saves at FMU and is within 12 of Jacque Sutphin's 287 total that is second on the Patriot all-time list.
 

 
Barton College (4-4-4, 4-3-3) def. Francis Marion Univ. (7-3-3, 4-2-3) 1-0
Date: 10/17/23      Attendance: 100
 
Goals by period         1  2  Tot
--------------------------------------------
Barton College......    0  1 -  1
Francis Marion Univ.  0  0 -  0
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0.  76:34 BC Gissuradottir, Iris (2) (Curran, Josephine) - Throw bounces through to box, 11 yard shot from left angle
 
Shots: Barton College 9, Francis Marion Univ. 11 ; Saves: Barton College 5 (Cara Davis 5), Francis Marion Univ. 5 (Makayla Willets 5)