Boone, N.C. – Senior Chris Thomas scored in the 33rd minute and Nathan Dean recorded six saves as Elon shocked 16th-ranked Furman, 1-0, in the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.

The loss snapped Furman's eight-match unbeaten streak and dropped the Paladins to 14-3-4 on the season.  Elon improved to 8-10-2.

The victory propelled the sixth-seeded Phoenix into the SoCon finals where they will face top-seeded UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Boone, N.C.  The match will be streamed live on ESPN3.com with Darren Goldwater and Charlie Slagle providing commentary.

Thomas took a pass from Gabe Latigue, turned and fired past Paladin keeper Alec Kann at the 32:19 mark to net the only goal of the match and his eighth of the 2011 season.

Elon controlled much of the first half possession prior to Thomas' strike from inside the 18-yard box less than 13 minutes before half.  Furman turned up the heat after intermission, forcing Dean into four second half saves while outshooting the Phoenix 18-6, but the Paladins were unable to find the equalizer.

Kann stopped one shot for the Paladins in the loss.

The Paladins will have to wait until Monday to find out if its resume is strong enough to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament's 48-team field.  The selection show will be streamed live at www.NCAASports.com beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Fans can follow the latest on Furman's postseason action at www.FurmanPaladins.com and www.Twitter.com/FurmanPaladins.