BROWNS SUMMIT, NC – In the Conference Carolinas Tournament Finals, the top-seeded and #18 ranked Francis Marion University women's soccer program saw its comeback bid fall short in a 2-1 loss against No. 2 seed Belmont Abbey on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 16) at Truist Soccer Complex.
With the loss, the Patriots drop to 17-2-0 this season following a second-straight trip to the Conference Carolinas Tournament Finals. Meanwhile, the Crusaders improve to 15-4-1 and secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their first league title since 2014.
Francis Marion will await the release of the NCAA Tournament bracket on Monday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. to determine if the Patriots receive an at-large bid. The Patriots ranked third in the latest Southeast Regional rankings, which were released on Wednesday (Nov. 12). The link for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be available on NCAA.com.
The following Patriots garnered Conference Carolinas All-Tournament honors: senior forward
Tehya Dave', freshman midfielder
Madeline Ballard, and freshman defender
Jaylynn Kemmerlin.
The Patriots were the aggressors in the opening minutes of the first half with freshman forward
Cora Lepper tallying a pair of shots, including one attempt on goal in the second minute. It remained a stalemate throughout a majority of the first half until sophomore forward
Chloe Pfaff registered a shot on goal at the 40:03 mark, which the Crusader keeper saved. In the final minute, sophomore midfielder
Nalani Hunt had a header inside the box that was stopped to keep the contest scoreless.
At the break, Francis Marion held a 4-0 shot advantage with three on goal, while neither side recorded a corner kick.
In the second half, Dave' had the best look of the match so far with a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper in the 59th minute, but the shot was saved. At the 63:11 mark, the Crusaders scored on their first shot of the match as Hannah Willis gathered a loose ball before passing it to Anna Richard, who buried the left-footed strike from 18 yards out. Under four minutes later, Belmont Abbey scored again after a failed clearance was collected by Sabrine Cunha, who registered the goal from 20 yards out off the crossbar, 2-0.
The Patriots had a goal wiped off the board at the 75:50 mark after it was ruled offside. In the 83rd minute, Francis Marion found its breakthrough after a ball sent on goal by freshman midfielder
Georgia-Allen Aaron was controlled by Dave', who scored her 13th goal of the season. FMU was unable to find an equalizer in the final minutes as a free-kick opportunity hit the post, while Crusader defender McKenna Schwarz recorded a team save off the line in the 87th minute.
Francis Marion finished with an 11-3 edge in total shots and a 2-0 lead in corner kicks.
Dave' climbs to 10th all-time in program history with 34 points (13 goals, 8 assists) in a single season. She also moves into a tie for 12th all-time with 22 career goals at FMU, alongside Susie Harris (1997-2000).
