FLORENCE, SC – Graduate student forward
Tehya Dave' and junior forward
Isabella Fregoso rose to the occasion against Belmont Abbey College as the Francis Marion University women's soccer team clinched the 2-0 shutout win on Saturday morning (Sept. 19) on Hartzler Field in Conference Carolinas play.
FMU (4-3, 2-1) will host another conference doubleheader against the Barton College Bulldogs on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Kickoff for the women is set for 4:30 p.m., while the men play at 7 p.m.
Dave' secured her fourth game-winning goal of the 2026 season, bringing her season total to 14 points on five goals and four assists. Fregoso added a late insurance goal, her third of the season. Both players recorded four shots, including three on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper
Emma Erickson earned her first career clean sheet in her second start, making four saves on 11 shots faced.
In the events leading up to the opening goal, Dave' drove down the sideline, dancing past Crusader defenders for an initial shot that was saved by the keeper. She stayed persistent, scooped the rebound, and fired again to score at the 1:38-mark of the first half, 1-0.
Despite several offensive threats throughout the remainder of the first half, neither team was able to find the back of the net.
Momentum was in the hands of the Patriots before sophomore forward
Matea Bradfield capitalized off a BAC miscue. She advanced down the pitch, looking for Fregoso just outside the box. Fregoso turned on the jets, breaking away from the Crusaders to receive a through-ball from Bradfield before firing a shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Francis Marion had an overwhelming 21-11 shot advantage over Belmont Abbey. FMU tallied seven total corners compared to BAC's five.
