MOUNT OLIVE (Sept. 19) – After allowing a pair of goals in the span of three-plus minutes, the University of Mount Olive women's soccer team fell by a 2-1 margin against Francis Marion in Conference Carolinas action at Amon Field on Tuesday evening.

With the loss, the Trojans drop to 0-2-3 this season behind a 0-1-1 mark in league play. Francis Marion earns its first win over Mount Olive since 2017, which was the last time FMU registered a victory at Amon Field. Meanwhile, the Patriots improve to 5-1 overall with a 2-0 record in conference action and have surpassed their win total from 2022.

In the 10th minute, Mount Olive produced the opening goal of the contest after a corner kick into the box from graduate student Samantha Hamrick was delivered into the back of the net by teammate Jaslyn Gott, 1-0. The Trojans continued to push offensively and tallied two more shots before Francis Marion countered with a pair of attempts that missed the net. UMO managed one more shot on goal in the 35th minute before taking a 1-0 advantage into the break.

The Patriots flipped the momentum in the second half and immediately pressured the net with five shots on goal, which were stopped by graduate student goalkeeper Nicole Solicito. At the 77:34 mark, the Patriots were awarded a penalty kick following a handball in the box and tied the contest at 1-1 as Kristina Syragakis scored her eighth goal of the year. Just over three minutes later, Syragakis delivered a pass into the middle of the box, which was buried into the top of goal by Ashley Jordan, 2-1.

Solicito registered six saves on 10 shots faced after playing all 90 minutes in the start.

Francis Marion finished with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal and held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Mount Olive returns to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 23, when it faces reigning Conference Carolinas Champions UNC Pembroke at 1:00 p.m.