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Furman Claims Women's Soccer Championship
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Third-seeded Furman scored twice within the first six minutes of the match and held on to defeat top-seeded UNC Greensboro, 3-1, Sunday afternoon in the championship match of the 2007 Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship at Davidson’s Alumni Soccer Stadium.
Furman opened the match with an offensive flurry. Forward Emily Krankowski collected a pass from Margaret Antonik near midfield and shot past the Spartans’ defense for a breakaway opportunity. Krankowski converted the one-on-one chance to give the Lady Paladins a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute.
The Lady Paladins stayed on the offensive, and just two minutes later, Katie Tucker upped Furman’s advantage to 2-0. Sara El-Shami played a through-ball to Rachel Fry, who tapped the ball back to a waiting Tucker.
UNC Greensboro turned up the offensive pressure and was rewarded in the 15th minute when Kristin Player cleaned up a Kelly Attayek header and cut Furman’s lead to 2-1.
Reserve Graham Marchman provided the Lady Paladins with an insurance goal in the 82nd minute of the match, heading in a cross from Kate Myatt to seal the victory.
“I’m just so excited for our team, especially our seniors,” said Furman head coach Andrew Burr. “I’m proud of the effort we put forth and the leadership that our defenders and (goalkeeper) Briana da Mota provided today.”
The Spartans maintained much of the possession in last 30 minutes of the first half and the entirety of the second half, holding a 20-6 advantage in shots. They were unable to cut into the Lady Paladins’ lead, however, as Furman goalkeeper Briana da Mota stopped nine Spartan shots.
Furman’s Rachel Fry, who tallied the game-winning goal in Friday’s 1-0 win over Davidson and contributed an assist in the championship match, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The victory gave Furman its fourth Southern Conference tournament title and the first since 2004. For the Spartans, this marks the first time in seven championship appearances that have been defeated.
With the win, Furman claims the Southern Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. The 64-team field will be announced on Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. on ESPNews with first round matches to be held at campus sites on Friday, November 16.
2007 Women’s Soccer All-Tournament Team
Katie Browne,
Brittany Schneider,
Kyri Bye-Nagel, Davidson
Bevin English, Davidson
Katelynn Donovan, UNC
Leigh Riordon, UNC
Mary Kate Towne, UNC
Ashley Creavalle, Furman
Briana da Mota, Furman
Rachel Fry, Furman
Emily Krankowski, Furman