Francis Marion University Women's Soccer

Sam Holmes is entering his third season as head coach of the Francis Marion University women's soccer program.  In only two seasons, he has revived the program, and the 2025 squad has been picked to repeat as conference championship according to the 2025 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season (2024), he guided Francis Marion to a 12-3-4 record, conference's East Division crown, the conference tournament title, and the program's third NCAA Tournament appearance.  The 2024 Patriot program, garnered a College Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches organization -- the 13th time in the past 22 seasons Francis Marion has earned that award. In his first season at FMU, he led a resurgence in the Patriot program.  He directed Francis Marion to an 8-6-4 mark, a second-place finish in the East Division standings, and an appearance in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.  He received the school's Frankie Award for Head Coach of the Year at the 2024 awards gala, and his squad earned a College Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches organization. Holmes owns a career coaching mark of 92-36-12 in eight seasons as a head coach. Holmes came to FMU from Limestone University where he has been the head coach for the past six seasons.  He compiled a 72-27-4 coaching mark and guided the Saints to three NCAA Division II National Tournament berths (2017, 2018, 2022). Prior to this season, four of his five squads at Limestone earned United State Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards.  His squads produced a pair of All-Americans and 13 All-Region selections. He was an assistant coach on the Limestone staff for three seasons before taking over the head coaching reigns in 2017. He also served as an assistant coach at Minot State University in North Dakota for four seasons, during which time the Beavers registered 42 victories. A native of Bexley, Kent, England, he earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Flagler College in 2008 and a master’s degree in management from Minot State in 2012. Holmes is the seventh head coach in the history of the 29-year-old program.  Francis Marion earned a pair of NCAA Division II National Tournament berths in 1998 and 2000.  The Patriots competed as NCAA Division I independents from 2005 to 2015 before returning to Division II affiliation. (8-2025)

Worley enters her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Patriot women’s soccer program. She has helped return the Patriot program to national prominence while directing the goalkeepers. In Worley’s three seasons in Florence, the women’s soccer program earned a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2024, 2025), captured the 2024 Conference Carolinas Tournament title, and secured two league East Division crowns. Francis Marion’s record with Worley on staff is 37-12-8, a .719 winning percentage. Francis Marion delivered a historic 2025 campaign after posting a 17-3-0 overall mark, which matches the most single season wins at FMU. The Patriots started a remarkable 14-0-0 to begin the year while the program was featured in the national rankings for seven-straight weeks. FMU claimed the Conference Carolinas East Division title for a consecutive year and reached the league tournament final as the No. 1 seed. The Patriots received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the fourth appearance in program history. Worley was instrumental in the development of 2025 D2CCA First-Team All-American goalkeeper Erin Grabeel, who registered the sixth-longest shutout streak in NCAA Division II women’s soccer history at 1157:16 scoreless minutes. Grabeel finished third in the nation with 14 shutouts and sixth in goal-against average (0.403). The Patriots defense tied for the top spot nationally in shutout percentage (0.750) and ranked fourth in goals against average (0.400) in 2025. FMU held its opponents to just 6.8 shots per match and only 2.5 shots on goal per contest. The eight goals are the lowest season total allowed by the Patriots in the 31-year history of the program. In 2024, she received the University's Frankie Award for Assistant Coach of the Year (2024-25). This came after the Patriots posted their best season in 20 years with a 12-3-4 record.  FMU won the 2024 Conference Carolinas East Division championship and captured the conference tournament title and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berth. Worley came to FMU in 2023 after serving as a graduate assistant coach at Wingate University during the 2022-23 school year.  She helped direct the Bulldogs to an NCAA Division II National Tournament berth. Worley trained the goalkeepers daily while working alongside the head coach in all aspects of the program.   While in the Charlotte area, she also served as a club coach with the Charlotte Independence and as a volunteer goalkeeper coach with the Lake Norman Charter High School.  She guided the Charlotte Independence U19 squad to a State Cup title and a 2021 regional qualification. Lake Norman Charter captured the NCHSAA 3A state championship in 2022.   Worley earned a B.A. degree cum laude from Texas Women’s University in 2020, and was a four-year member of the women’s soccer team.  She was part of the University’s first squad to earn a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2019.  For her work in the classroom, she was placed on the Chancellor’s List in 2017, 2018, and 2020.   (1-2026)