KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Royals concluded pool play this afternoon finishing their NCCAA National Championship run with a 1-1 overall record.
 
The winner of each pool will advance to the national championship game played on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.
 
The Royals fell yesterday to the NCCAA No. 1 ranked Grace College Lancers 0-3. This afternoon, the Royals took down the Flying Fleet in a 2-0 shutout to round off their season.
 
Warner put together a deadly accurate game with 10 shots and eight of them on goal. It was Lexi Garcia that struck first blood on the Flying Fleet netting the opening goal in the 22^nd minute assisted by Taylor Boyd. Just twelve minutes later, Maddie Manzke placed a corner kick right inside of the goalie box and found Emma Marshall waiting who then scored to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.
 
The Royals defense played an outstanding game holding Erskine to just six total shots and only one of them on goal. Royals keeper Mackenzie Spurling played all 90:00 minutes of the game and saved the only shot she faced receiving credit for the shutout.
 
This was the first time Warner and Erskine have ever met on the soccer field. The Royals run at an NCCAA National Championship may be over but they have proved that they're moving in the right direction. Warner has appeared in the 2018 and 2020 NCCAA National Championships. Royals head coach Payton Chitwood said, "I'm very proud of the ladies today and from this week. For those not returning next year, it's a good finish and they helped propel this team forward. For the returners, it's a good team platform to be at and push on for next year. They played hard for each other and brought out a great energy level, especially when having two back-to-back games. I'm thankful for the staff and players. They bring joy and are great to be around. I'm excited about the plans moving forward and the step our program is going to take moving forward!"