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Furman Downs Wofford to Reach SoCon Title Match
GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 3 seed Furman got a 13th-minute goal from Marco Ortiz and made it stand, downing No. 2 seed Wofford 1-0 on Thursday in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Paladins advance to Saturday’s final and await the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between No. 1 seed Mercer and No. 4 seed UNCG.
Ortiz scored the only goal Furman (11-5-3) would need at the 12:46 mark, when Kevin Pahl made a run on the left side and sent the ball in to Ortiz. The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, drew Wofford keeper Joe Wichmann out of the net and banged the ball home to the far post for the game’s lone score and his second goal of the season.
The Furman win snapped Wofford’s five-match win streak in the series and avenged a pair of Paladin regular-season losses to the Terriers this year.
The match featured several narrow misses on both sides, and the teams combined for three team saves. The first came with about 21 minutes left in the first half, when Wofford’s Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez got a boot on a Nestor Jaramillo pass inside the 6-yard box behind Furman keeper Sven Lissek, only to see defender Eric Steber there to clear away the sure goal.
In the 77th minute, Furman picked up its second team save, as Tony Santibanez cleared Matthew Aurednik’s header before it could find the net. Wofford (11-6-1) returned the favor in the waning minutes of the game, as defender Connor Bauknight thwarted Lewis Hawke’s close-range attempt that could have slammed the door on any hopes of a Terrier comeback.
Lissek made an outstanding diving stop on Jaramillo’s free kick in the 19th minute, and Wofford had Charlie Keeley’s tying goal waved off in the 38th minute on a Terrier foul in the box.
Furman had an excellent chance to double its lead just minutes later, as Steber worked an pretty give-and-go with Eli Pinner, but Pinner’s return pass was just inches off the mark and Wichmann was able to come off his line and thwart the chance.
Lissek finished with three saves for his SoCon-best 10th shutout of the season and 19th shutout of his career, tying him for ninth in league history. The 10 shutouts this season are tied for third in a single season in SoCon history.
With the win, Furman has reached the championship match for the 15th time overall and first time since 2010. The Paladins will be seeking their first title since 2007.
2014 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Nov. 8 (Saturday)
First round (at higher seeds) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 1: No. 4 UNCG 2, No. 5 ETSU 1 (2OT)
Match 2: No. 3 Furman 1, No. 6 VMI 0
Nov. 13 (Thursday)
Semifinals (Greensboro, N.C.) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 3: No. 3 Furman 1, No. 2 Wofford 0
Match 4: No. 1 Mercer vs. No. 4 UNCG, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 (Saturday)
Final (Greensboro, N.C.) (ESPN3)
Match 5: No.3 Furman vs. Winner Match 4, 7 p.m.
All times Eastern.
Ortiz scored the only goal Furman (11-5-3) would need at the 12:46 mark, when Kevin Pahl made a run on the left side and sent the ball in to Ortiz. The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, drew Wofford keeper Joe Wichmann out of the net and banged the ball home to the far post for the game’s lone score and his second goal of the season.
The Furman win snapped Wofford’s five-match win streak in the series and avenged a pair of Paladin regular-season losses to the Terriers this year.
The match featured several narrow misses on both sides, and the teams combined for three team saves. The first came with about 21 minutes left in the first half, when Wofford’s Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez got a boot on a Nestor Jaramillo pass inside the 6-yard box behind Furman keeper Sven Lissek, only to see defender Eric Steber there to clear away the sure goal.
In the 77th minute, Furman picked up its second team save, as Tony Santibanez cleared Matthew Aurednik’s header before it could find the net. Wofford (11-6-1) returned the favor in the waning minutes of the game, as defender Connor Bauknight thwarted Lewis Hawke’s close-range attempt that could have slammed the door on any hopes of a Terrier comeback.
Lissek made an outstanding diving stop on Jaramillo’s free kick in the 19th minute, and Wofford had Charlie Keeley’s tying goal waved off in the 38th minute on a Terrier foul in the box.
Furman had an excellent chance to double its lead just minutes later, as Steber worked an pretty give-and-go with Eli Pinner, but Pinner’s return pass was just inches off the mark and Wichmann was able to come off his line and thwart the chance.
Lissek finished with three saves for his SoCon-best 10th shutout of the season and 19th shutout of his career, tying him for ninth in league history. The 10 shutouts this season are tied for third in a single season in SoCon history.
With the win, Furman has reached the championship match for the 15th time overall and first time since 2010. The Paladins will be seeking their first title since 2007.
2014 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Nov. 8 (Saturday)
First round (at higher seeds) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 1: No. 4 UNCG 2, No. 5 ETSU 1 (2OT)
Match 2: No. 3 Furman 1, No. 6 VMI 0
Nov. 13 (Thursday)
Semifinals (Greensboro, N.C.) (SoCon Digital Network)
Match 3: No. 3 Furman 1, No. 2 Wofford 0
Match 4: No. 1 Mercer vs. No. 4 UNCG, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 (Saturday)
Final (Greensboro, N.C.) (ESPN3)
Match 5: No.3 Furman vs. Winner Match 4, 7 p.m.
All times Eastern.
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