Davidson, N.C. -- Freshman Hannah Stanifer scored on a rebound with just 2:16 left in regulation to propel No. 5 seed Furman to a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Davidson in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

With the match knotted at 1-1, freshman Alyssa Althoff unleashed a shot from the left side that Davidson keeper Rachel Locke could not hold, and Stanifer pounced on the loose ball to drill home her sixth goal of the season and third match-winner to send Furman into a November 4, SoCon semifinal matchup against either Samford or Western Carolina in Greensboro, N.C.

"This was a great day for Furman women's soccer," said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr.  "We played well on the road against a team that was in good form and got a great effort from Laura White, who kept us organized in the middle all day."

Stanifer's match-winning tally was the 18th goal of the year scored by a Paladin freshman and eight game-winning tally by a rookie in 2011.

"Our freshmen played fantastic today and continue to have a huge impact on this program," said Burr.  "We are playing as many as five or six at any given time and they continue to mature and improve."

Furman, which improved to 12-7-2 with the quarterfinal round triumph over the Wildcats, took an early lead when sophomore Ellen Moore scored off of a Colleen Lynch cross from deep on the right side at the 10:38 mark for her first goal of the season.

The Wildcats pulled even late in the half as Stephanie Piperno took a Becca Fisher pass and scored her sixth goal of the year in the 35th minute.

After Furman outshot the Davidson (9-9-2) 10-5 in the opening half, the Wildcats turned up the pressure on the Paladins over the final 45 minutes, but senior Jessica Smith was forced to make only three saves to notch the victory in goal.

"Our back line did a great job of holding us together, especially in the second half, and Jessica made great decision inside the box."

Furman finished with a 14-11 edge in shot attempts and 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.  Locke stopped five shots for the Wildcats.

With the win, Furman improved to 6-1-1 all-time versus Davidson in Southern Conference Tournament play and eliminated the Wildcats for the third time in the last five seasons.

Follow www.FurmanPaladins.com and www.Twitter.com/FurmanPaladins for updates on Furman Women's Soccer throughout the 2011 season.