Statesboro, Ga. – Brooks Duff rallied Furman from a 1-0 deficit in the final three minutes of regulation and netted the match-winning goal less than four minutes into overtime to give the Paladins a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday at Eagle Field.

With the win, Furman improved to 5-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the SoCon while Georgia Southern dipped to 3-3-1 overall and 0-1-0 in league play.

In the 94th minute, freshman Josh Fusan served a free kick to the right side of the six-yard box and Duff knocked in the winner chipping the ball off of the far post at 93:44 to give the Paladins a come-from-behind victory over the Eagles.  The goal was Duff's third of the season and his second match-winner.

Jon Cox had put the Eagles in front in the 40th minute.  Luigi Clendening played a ball behind the defense and Cox beat Paladin keeper Alec Kann to the ball before firing into an empty net at the 39:17 mark.

Furman began to apply pressure to the Georgia Southern defense in the second half and notched the equalizer with just 2:33 left in the match as Michael Gandier passed to Duff and the senior fired past GSU keeper Ryan Platt from 15 yards out to force overtime and set up his golden goal in the 94th minute.

The Paladins held an 8-6 edge in shot attempts and 6-4 advantage in shots on goal.  Furman earned eight corner kicks to four by the Eagles.

Kann picked up the victory in goal for Furman stopping three Georgia Southern shots and allowing just one goal.  Platt suffered the loss despite making four saves for the Eagles.

The Paladins return to action on Saturday when they travel to face the Charlotte 49ers in non-conference action.  Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., is set for 7 p.m.

Fans can follow Furman soccer all season long with live statistics and game reports at www.furmanpaladins.com as well as in-game updates of home matches at www.twitter.com/FurmanPaladins.