COLUMBUS, GA – In the first round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, the Francis Marion University women's soccer team season ended with a 3-0 loss to top-seeded and second-ranked Columbus State University, Friday afternoon.
 
Francis Marion finished its season with a 12-3-4 record after making its third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and the first appearance in 24 years. The Patriots, East Division champions in Conference Carolinas, also claimed their second conference tournament title last weekend.
 
The Lady Cougars (20-0-1), who rank as the top scoring team in Division II, outshot the Patriots 15-4 and led in corner kicks 8-2.
 
CSU took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute on a penalty kick by Vanessa Aviles.  The margin doubled to 2-0 at 20:11 when Abigail Akerson scored off an assist from Michelle Medina.
 
Eighth-seeded Francis Marion did create scoring opportunities in the opening half.  Senior defender JG Garon's free kick in the 11th minute was deflected and fell to CSU goalkeeper Heidi Harris.  The Patriots' best chance came at 21:13 when All-Conference forward Kristina Syragakis laced a shot that Harris got a piece of, but the ball rolled toward the open net only to glance off the right post for a Patriot corner kick.
 
Faith Knoedler tallied the final score in the 76th minute to account for the 3-0 final score. 
 
Patriot All-conference goalkeeper Erin Grabell recorded two saves in 85 minutes of action, while Harris made one save.
 
CSU has now scored a nation-leading 92 goals this season, while surrendering only 10.