Greenville, S.C. -- Senior Clint Ritter opened the scoring for Furman and fellow senior Trent Johnson earned the victory in goal to help the Furman men's soccer team to a 3-1 Senior Day victory over VMI on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.

The victory snapped a three-game skid and improved the Paladins to 6-4-3 overall and 2-3-1 in league play.  VMI dropped to 1-12-1 overall and 0-6-0 in the SoCon.

"It's great to get back in the win column," said Furman head coach Doug Allison.  "Three points are hard to come by in conference play this time of year so we are happy to get the victory."

Furman took the early lead through Ritter's first goal of the season at the 17:27 mark.  Tyler Peoples played a ball into the path of the Cedar Hill, Texas, native who lined a shot into the left side from the top of the box.

Sophomore Bobby Edet doubled the margin in the 27th minute with his fourth goal of the campaign.  The forward muscled past a VMI defender, rounded the keeper and fired a shot inside the far right post at the 26:47 mark to give the Paladins a 2-0 cushion.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Furman increased its lead to 3-0.  Lewis Hawke stripped the ball from a VMI defender in the box and banked a shot off of the right post from the left corner of the six-yard box for his fifth goal of 2014.

The Keydets got on the scoreboard in the 60th minute when Hunter Morgan converted a penalty kick following a foul in the box, but Furman dominated possession over the final 30 minutes to secure its third league victory.

Johnson, making his first start in goal this season, stopped two shots to notch the win for Furman.  VMI's Alex Guerra made five saves in a losing effort.

The Paladins posted a 23-7 edge in shot attempts and 8-3 advantage in shots on goal to complete the season sweep of the Keydets.  

The match featured 43 total fouls and seven yellow cards.  VMI's Eric Friese was sent off following his second caution with under seven minutes left.

Furman returns to the road on Tuesday when it faces UNCG in Greensboro, N.C.  Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Fans can log onto FurmanPaladins.com to follow live statistics and watch free live streaming video via the SoCon Digital Network.  Live in-game updates will be available on Twitter by following @FurmanSoccer.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information