Spartanburg, S.C. -- Nick Orton found the back of the net in the 75th minute to lift Wofford to a 1-0 victory over Furman in the Southern Conference regular season finale for both teams on Saturday night at Snyder Field.

The loss dropped the Paladins to 9-5-3 overall and 5-4-1 in league play, while Wofford concluded the regular season at 11-5-1 overall and 7-2-1 in the SoCon.  Furman will open SoCon Tournament play as the No. 3 seed and will host the sixth-seeded VMI Keydets on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium on Saturday, November 8, at 7 p.m.

"It was not the result we wanted," said Furman head coach Doug Allison.  "We appreciate the fans who traveled.  Now we have a chance to start a new season with the SoCon Tournament first round game next Saturday."

With under 16 minutes remaining in regulation, Connor Copeland fed a pass to Orton from the left side of the box and the forward hammered a shot into the right side of the net at 74:07.  The goal marked Orton's first score of the season.

Furman compiled a 13-10 edge in shot attempts and 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, but the Paladins were unable to best Wofford goalkeeper Joe Wichmann who finished with five saves to notch the shutout.

The Paladins applied the pressure to the Wofford defense in the first half as Clint Ritter, Eli Pinner and Evan De Ycaza each forced Wichmann into a save in the opening 35 minutes, but Wofford held Furman to a lone shot on goal over the finale 55 minutes and managed a 6-3 edge in shot attempts after intermission.

Junior Sven Lissek recorded three saves for Furman in a losing effort.

Tickets for next Saturday's SoCon first round matchup against the Keydets will be available at the gate at $4 for adults and $2 for children.  Furman students receive free admission with a valid student ID.

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


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information