Furman wins 2018 men's soccer championship

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Furman Paladins won their third SoCon Championship since 2014 and conference-leading 14^th in program history with a 3-0 win over No. 5-seed UNCG on Sunday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

The first half was a back-and-forth to start. Emery May was the first to strike for the Paladins off an assist from the tournament’s most outstanding player, Laurence Wyke. May buried the ball just inside the net off a shot from midfield. May followed up with another goal nine minutes later, heading the ball into the back of the net off assists from Jack Shiels and Cole McLagan. Those two goals were May’s eight and ninth on the season.

Furman’s Conor Sloan tacked on one more goal late in the second half for his second goal of the season off an assist from Connor Hubbard. The 2018 Goalkeeper of the Year, Ben Hale finished with five saves.

Nine Spartan’s combined for 12 shots to hold a 12-6 shooting advantage over the Paladins. UNCG also had an 9-2 advantage on corner-kicks but just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.

The Paladins’ first championship came in 1988 and then they repeated in 1989. They then went on to win the tournament back to back in 1993 and 1994, 1996 and 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001, again in 2007 and then back-to-back once again in 2014 and 2015.

The Paladins will find out where they play next during the NCAA Selection show, which airs on NCAA.com on Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team 

Jake Mezei, Mercer
Kobe Perez, Mercer
Nick Spielman, ETSU
Cameron Woodfin, ETSU  
Josh Masten, UNCG
Alex Henderson, UNCG
Austin Matthews, UNCG
Jack Shiels, Furman
Cameron Robinson, Furman
Rocky Guerra, Furman
Laurence Wyke, Furman

Most Outstanding Player 
Laurence Wyke, Furman

Pinnacle Award (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Sean Langan, Furman 

2018 Men’s Soccer Championship

Wednesday, Oct. 31

First Round (at higher seeds)

Match 1: No. 6 Belmont 2, No. 7 VMI 1

Saturday, Nov. 3 Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)

Match 2: No. 5 UNCG 1, No. 4 Wofford 0
Match 3: No. 3 Furman 4, No. 6 Belmont 2

Friday, Nov. 9 Semifinals (Summers-Taylor Stadium, Johnson City, Tenn.)

Match 5: No. 5 UNCG 1, No. 1 Mercer 0
Match 6: No. 3 Furman 2, No. 2 ETSU 1 (OT)

Sunday, Nov. 11 Final (Summers-Taylor Stadium; Johnson City, Tenn.)

Match 7: No. 3 Furman 3, No. 5 UNCG 0