FLORENCE, SC – Five members of the Francis Marion University men's soccer program were selected to the 2026 Conference Carolinas All-Conference squad, announced Friday morning (Oct. 30).
 
Graduate student defender David Guevara garnered first-team honors, while the Patriot trio of junior forward Jose Coutinho, senior forward Volkan Celikkol, and senior defender Esteban Quintero all earned second-team status. Senior forward Lucas Vila collected third-team honors.
 
Guevara, a native of Guayaquil, Ecuador, earned the all-conference nod for a third consecutive season, including back-to-back first-team honors. He has started 15 matches along the backline, tallying the fourth-most minutes of a Patriot position player. Guevara registered one goal, a game-tying header in a 3-2 road win at Chowan University. He has anchored an FMU defense that has allowed only 12 goals in 19 matches for a 0.63 goals-against average, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division II. Francis Marion surrendered only 3.2 shots on goal per match and posted 10 shutouts. Guevara was voted the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Week a league-high three times this year.
 
Coutinho, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, was second on the Patriot squad with 13 points behind five goals and three assists in 19 matches. He ranks 10th in NCAA Division II with four game-winning goals and a .608 shot accuracy after tallying 31 of 51 shots on goal.
 
Celikkol, a native of Ankara, Turkey, has played in all 19 matches with 17 starts in the attacking half for the Patriots and ranks third amongst position players with 1,231 minutes. He has tallied nine points in 2026 with one goal and a team-leading seven assists, which ranks second in the Conference Carolinas.
 
Quintero, a product of Hilton Head, South Carolina, has been a headline defender on the FMU backline with 14 starts while averaging 87 minutes per match. He has totaled six points on two goals and two assists, scoring against Shorter University and the University of Mount Olive. Quintero is part of the Patriot defense that has only surrendered 12 goals and ranks ninth in the country with a 0.63 goals-against average.
 
Vila, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, paces the Patriots with 14 points behind a team-leading six goals, plus a pair of assists after competing in all 19 matches with 15 starts. He has tallied three game-winning goals this season, including the eventual game-winner in a 3-0 win over King in the opening round of the league tourney. Vila ranks ninth in the conference in total goals and 11th in total points.
 
This group has helped Francis Marion to a 13-4-2 mark this year and was nationally ranked for four weeks, climbing as high as #7 in the nation. FMU will travel to fourth-seeded Chowan University (9-4-2) in a quarterfinal-round match on Saturday at 7 p.m.