Furman claims SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship

JOHNSON CITY TENN. – Furman scored a goal in the first four minutes of the contest as the fourth-seeded Paladins took down the  No. 2 seed ETSU, 2-0, on Sunday in Johnson City, Tennessee, to claim the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship.

The win represents the Paladins’ 15th SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship, the first since 2018.

With the win, Furman claims the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. The NCAA Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Monday at 1 p.m.

Christian Kraus scored the opening goal of the game, the eventual game-winning score, in the fourth minute to put Furman on the board. The forward found the bottom left corner of the net for the score, off an assist from Wilfer Bustamante.

In the 70th minute of play, Caleb Johnson scored the Paladins’ second goal with an assist from Lloyd Wamu-Snell.

The Paladins outshot the Buccaneers, 15-9, while both teams recorded five corner kicks and three saves.

Tournament MOP Aaron Salinas played all 90 minutes of the game in the goal for the Paladins, leading the defense that kept ETSU scoreless. Furman gave up just one goal for the entirety of the conference tournament.

Today’s result puts Furman ahead 2-0 all-time against ETSU in the SoCon tournament. 

The Paladins enter NCAA Tournament play with a 9-3-5 overall record. 

2024 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team

Aaron Salinas, Furman

Christian Kraus, Furman

Lloyd Wamu-Snell, Furman

Slade Starnes, Furman

Marc Kouadio, ETSU

Gabriel Ramos, ETSU

Louie Salkeld, ETSU

Sami Lachekar, UNCG

Axel Alejandre, UNCG

Hugo Moldin, Wofford

Paul Jones, Wofford

Most Outstanding Player

Aaron Salinas, Furman

 

Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)

Jack Travis, Furman

2024 SoCon Men's Soccer Championship

Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 8 

Campus sites

Match 1: No. 4 Furman 2, No. 5 Mercer 0 (Greensboro, N.C.)

Match 2: No. 3 Wofford 3, No. 6 VMI 0 (Johnson City, Tenn.)

 

Championship Semifinals, Sunday, Nov. 10

Campus sites (at higher seeds)

Match 3: No. 4 Furman 1, No. 1 UNCG 1 (FU advances on PKs, 6-5) (Greensboro, N.C.)

Match 4: No. 3 Wofford 1, No. 2 ETSU 1 (ETSU advances on PKs, 5-3) (Johnson City, Tenn.)

 

Finals, Sunday, Nov. 17

Johnson City, Tenn.

Match 5: No. 4 Furman 2, No. 2 ETSU 0