FLORENCE, SC – The Francis Marion University women's soccer team opened Conference Carolinas play with a 3-0 win over King University, Saturday (Sept. 16) afternoon.
 
Ashley Jordan, a native of Marshall, Victoria, Australia, posted her third goal of the season, giving FMU a 1-0 lead at the 17:16 mark. A strong throw in by freshman defender Joy Brockmann found Kristina Syragakis charging down the field and her one-touch pass gave Jordan the opportunity to score.
 
Sophomore Haley Sink claimed her first goal of the season on a crossed ball by Brockmann that was headed on to her by Syragakis. Playing in between several defenders, Sink was able to slip the ball in for goal number two in the 22nd minute.
 
Syragakis, the leading scorer for the 2023 season, found herself with yet another goal at the 77-minute mark. Getting tripped up by an opposing player in the box, Syragakis slotted the third and final goal of the game into the bottom right corner off a penalty kick.
 
The Patriots played with a collected demeanor throughout the entire game, holding possession for more than 54 percent of the game. Francis Marion also registered a total of 14 shots (10 being on target) compared to King's four. With multiple attempts to score, FMU kept King on the defensive and continued to push the pace the entirety of the game. Putting continuous pressure on the Tornado's defense, the Patriots racked up 10 corner kicks.
 
Syragakis led FMU with four shots and was closely followed by sophomore midfielder Izzy Ashley with two shots of her own.
 
FMU senior goalkeeper Makayla Willets remained steady in between the pipes with two saves during the 90-minute match.  It was her ninth career shutout as a Patriot.
 
This win advances Francis Marion to a record of 4-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in league play.
 
"I was just happy that we were able to execute some of the things that we did in training and come out with the result we wanted," said first-year FMU head coach Sam Holmes. "I think building on the pyramid and making sure that we are getting better and better for the next few games is really important. You must be extremely gritty and hard and do all those little things because that type of play will travel anywhere."
 
Francis Marion will return to the pitch on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. with a road match at the University of Mount Olive.

 
 
Francis Marion Univ. (4-1-0, 1-0-0) def. King (TN) University (1-3-1, 0-1-0) 3-0
Date: 09/16/23      Attendance: 111
 
Goals by period        1  2  Tot
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King (TN) University  0  0 -  0
Francis Marion Univ.  2  1 -  3
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1-0.  17:16 FMU_W Ashley Jordan (3) (Kristina Syragakis;Joy Brockmann) - Good throw in leads to dribble head, toe
2-0.  21:08 FMU_W Haley Sink (1) (Kristina Syragakis;Joy Brockmann) - Cross from right side, headed on, toe-po
3-0.  77:38 FMU_W Kristina Syragakis (7) (unassisted) - slotted to right side of goal
 
Shots: King (TN) University 4, Francis Marion Univ. 14 ; Saves: King (TN) University 7 (Kristal Garcia 7), Francis Marion Univ. 2 (Makayla Willets 2)