Furman downs Wofford in SoCon quarters

No. 2 seed Furman 3, No. 7 seed Wofford

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Senior Stephanie DeVita netted her second career hat trick to lead second-seeded Furman to a 3-0 victory over No. 7 seed Wofford in the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals Sunday afternoon on a wet Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.

The victory improved the Paladins to 15-4-1 on the season and advanced head coach Andrew Burr’s squad into the semifinal round of the league tournament. Furman will host third-seeded UNCG at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, after top-seed Samford plays No. 4 seed Mercer in the opening semifinal match at Stone Stadium at 5 p.m.  The winners will face off in the SoCon championship match on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.

Furman ran its winning streak to seven matches and its unbeaten streak to nine games on Sunday with three goals from its all-time leading scorer. DeVita, who passed Emily Turgeon in career points with her first score of the day, put the Paladins ahead just 1:36 into the contest. Her shot from the middle of the box took a deflection off the arm of a Wofford defender to earn Furman a penalty kick, and the Simpsonville, S.C., native converted the spot kick.

In the 51st minute, Furman earned a free kick deep on the right side. Senior Kristen Baker lofted a cross toward the back side of the 6-yard box that DeVita headed back across the face of goal and into the right side to up the margin to 2-0.

With 2:03 left in regulation, DeVita stepped up to bury another penalty kick for her league-leading 15th goal of the season after freshman Kristian Leone was taken down in the box. The hat trick was the second of DeVita’s career, with the first having come against VMI on Oct. 26, 2014.

The Paladin defense dominated the day by limiting Wofford to just one shot on goal, which came late in the second half. Senior Maggie Grisell stopped the Terriers’ only shot on target to record her ninth shutout of the season and improve to 14-2-1 in net.

Furman posted an 18-7 advantage in total shots and 7-1 margin in shots on goal.

Alex Carroll stopped four shots in a losing effort for Wofford.