Greensboro, N.C. -- Senior Sven Lissek recorded three saves and Furman's defense held a potent UNCG offense in check for the second time this season to earn a scoreless draw and maintain its hold on first place on Saturday night in Greensboro, N.C.

With Furman's (6-4-2, 4-1-1 SoCon) 0-0 draw at UNCG (3-1-2 SoCon) and Mercer's (3-1-2 SoCon) 1-1 draw at Wofford (3-1-2 SoCon), the Paladins enter the final four matches of SoCon play with a two-point lead over the Spartans, Bears and Terriers, who are all tied for second place in the league standings.

Furman came out of the gates on the attack and came close to taking the lead several times in the opening 45 minutes, including a pair of headers by Dalton Souder off of set pieces that forced UNCG goalkeeper Jon Milligan into saves.  

After Furman posted a 9-4 edge in shots in the first half, UNCG went on the attack early in the second period.  Lissek made the key save of the match in the 51st minute when Rouven Wahlfeldt found space at the top of the six-yard box, but had his point-blank effort batted away from danger by the Sewau, Germany, native.

Marco Ortiz, Lewis Hawke and Eli Pinner each recorded shots on goal over the final 30 minutes of regulation before the match went to overtime in a 0-0 deadlock.  Jacques Francois had an open shot at the Furman net in the opening minute of overtime, but Lissek denied the forward and survived back-to-back corner kicks to help the Paladins earn the draw.

Lissek recorded his fifth clean sheet in Furman's last six matches, while Milligan registered eight saves for the Spartans.  The Paladins finished with a 16-11 edge in shot attempts and 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Furman returns to Stone Stadium to host VMI on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. before entertaining ETSU in "The Quinn Game" for Down Syndrome Awareness on Friday night.

Tickets for both games are available on FurmanPaladins.com or can be purchased at the Stone Stadium entrance beginning one hour prior to kickoff.

Fans can access in-game updates of Furman men's soccer on Twitter by following @FurmanSoccer.  Links for video and live statistics for this week's matches will be available at FurmanPaladins.com.

Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information