FLORENCE, SC – The Francis Marion University men's soccer program starts the 2026 campaign on Thursday (Aug. 27) at 4 p.m. with a home match versus #15 nationally-ranked Flagler College.

The opening contest begins a three-match homestand for the Patriots.  Admission to the Griffin Athletic Complex is $10 for adults and $5 for students, with FMU faculty, staff, and students being admitted free with identification. Additionally, kids under the age of five will also be admitted for free.

FMU will play an 18-match regular season schedule that includes 10 home contests at Hartzler Field. The Patriots will face a highly competitive schedule, including three programs that were selected #1 in their league's preseason poll (Flagler, Young Harris, Auburn Montgomery).

"When I came to Francis Marion, the main goal was always to be participating in the NCAA Tournament," said head men's soccer coach Luis Rincon. "In order to achieve that, we must play the best teams and compete with five top conferences in Super Region 2. We want to play teams that are fighting to make the postseason and usually ranked among the top programs in our region."

Francis Marion was selected second in the 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll and is the reigning three-time champion of the league's East Division.

Rincon enters his eighth season at the helm for the Patriots. Last season, Francis Marion posted an 8-4-5 overall record with an 8-1-3 mark in conference play. The Patriots won the 2025 East Division title and captured the No. 1 seed in the league tournament. Rincon owns a .653 winning percentage in 11 seasons as a head coach, including a 65-32-30 mark on the FMU bench.

"We return a solid base with graduate student defender David Guevara, who has been an outstanding player in the region and is one of our leaders. Fellow defenders graduate student Tim Wilkening and senior Esteban Quintero played a lot of minutes for our program," expressed Rincon. "In the midfield, we return experience from senior Santiago Sanchez and graduate student Othmane Karoumi. Those five players created a strong base from our squad last year, and I look forward to seeing their improvement."

The Patriots had one of the top defensive units in the NCAA Division II in 2025 after surrendering just 15 goals and opponents averaging 0.88 goals per game, which ranked 19th in the country. Guevara returns following another standout season where he garnered D2CCA First-Team All-Southeast Region honors and first-team all-conference status. He was one of just two players to start all 17 matches in 2025 and played a team-high 1468 minutes. Wilkening and Quintero also return to the lineup along the defensive backline after both players were featured starters down the final stretch of last year.

At goalkeeper, the Patriots have seen consistent play during the preseason from graduate student Vicent Sanchis and freshman Patrick Maher. Sanchis, a 6-foot-2 keeper from Valencia, Spain, transfers in from Christian Brothers University. Maher, a 6-foot-4 product from Cairns, Australia, has also delivered solid performances in training and scrimmages.

Francis Marion will feature several new faces in the attacking half of the pitch. Graduate student Filippo Noseda and senior Victor Barón da Silva, both natives of Italy, are expected to see playing time and allow the Patriots to stretch the field. Senior Lucas Vila joins the squad after playing in 32 matches at Lynn University over two years. He garnered third-team all-conference honors in 2024 playing in the Sunshine State Conference. Junior Jose Coutinho is another newcomer after competing at Division I Longwood University in 2025. He played double-digit games for Lancers while earning three starts.

In the midfield, senior Hugo Le Floch brings collegiate experience after starting all 15 matches at Tusculum University. He ranked second on the team in total points with nine (two goals, five assists) and led the squad in assists. Rincon mentioned that either Le Floch and Noseda could play the number 10 position as the team's primary attacking midfielder and playmaker.

Conference play begins on Sept. 5 when the Patriots travel to Chowan University for a 7 p.m. matchup. The first two rounds of the conference tournament will take place on campus sites at the higher seeds on Oct. 28 and 31, while the semifinals and championship contests on Nov. 6 and 8, respectively, will again be played at Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C.