Mt. Pleasant, S.C. – Sophomore Mark Gabriel scored in the 43rd minute and to propel second-seeded Furman to a 1-0 victory over No. 6 seed Davidson in the Southern Conference Men's Soccer Semifinals on Friday night at Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

The win, which improved the Paladins to 10-6-4 on the season, advanced Furman into the SoCon Championship Match where it will face top-seed UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Patriots Point.  The Spartans earned a berth in the finals by upending Appalachian State 1-0 in overtime earlier on Friday.  

"It was another one-goal game for us - it has been like the all year," said Furman head coach Doug Allison.  "That was a very good Davidson team, and any win this time of year is a good win.  So we will take it."

Gabriel took advantage of a misplay by the Davidson (7-7-6) back line and lifted a shot over the oncoming Chip Sanders to register his first goal of the season and second of his career at the 42:06 mark. Walker Jernigan's pass from midfield bounced into the box, and the junior was credited with the assist.

Furman's defense, which has helped the Paladins record eight clean sheets in 20 matches this season, was up to the task again denying Davidson a shot on goal.  Goalkeeper Alec Kann notched his seventh shutout for the Paladins while Sanders stopped one shot for the Wildcats in a losing effort.

Each team registered four total shots with Furman claiming the only two shots on goal.

The championship match will mark the sixth meeting between the Paladins and Spartans in the SoCon finals since 1997 with Furman holding a 4-1-0 edge.  Furman holds a 12-10-1 all-time lead in the series with UNCG, but the Spartans have won three straight over the Paladins, including a 1-0 decision at Stone Stadium on October 30.

The Paladins, who claimed a share of their 19th SoCon regular season crown last week, will be searching for their 12th SoCon Tournament title and first since 2007.  The winner of Sunday's match will claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.  The 48-team field is set to be announced on Monday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Fans can follow live stats of Sunday's championship match at www.FurmanPaladins.com and follow live Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/furmanpaladins.