Greenville, S.C. -- Freshman Josiah Baker and junior Lewis Hawke netted second half goals as 10-man Furman downed Southern Conference rival UNCG, 2-0, in men's soccer action on a rainy and windy Friday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.

After being relegated to 10 men when substitute Evan De Ycaza was shown the red card at the 41:15 mark, Furman prevailed against the odds to improve to 3-3-2 overall and begin SoCon play at 2-0-0 for the first time since the 2008 campaign.  UNCG slipped to 5-5-1 overall and 1-1-0 in league play.

The Spartans opened the match on the attack and created the majority of the scoring chances in the first half.  Furman goalkeeper Sven Lissek recorded an early save on a header, but the senior was shown a yellow card and a penalty kick was awarded to the Spartans in the 22nd minute when Lissek brought a UNCG attacker down in the box after the Paladins turned the ball over in the midfield. Lissek erased the Paladins mistake, however, by making a diving save on Leeroy Maguraushe's spot kick to keep the match scoreless.

In the 42nd minute, De Ycaza made late contact with a UNCG player after chasing a ball across the touch line and was shown the red card.  Moments later, UNCG once against looked like it would break the tie but a Paladin defender cleared a Nicholas Downs header off of the goal line to send the match to halftime at 0-0.

After being outshot 6-1 in the opening 45 minutes, shorthanded Furman took control in the second half.  The Paladins compiled a 7-5 edge in shot attempts and held the Spartans without a shot on target in the final period.

With just over 13 minutes left in regulation, Marco Ortiz's touch in the box took a deflection and Baker attempted a bicycle kick from the left side of the box that sailed over the bar.  The rookie bounced back to find his target with under nine minutes to play when he collected the ball in the midfield, burst past several UNCG defenders and unleashed a shot from the left side of the box towards the near post that squirted between the legs of UNCG goalkeeper Logan Rohde at 81:34 to break the tie.  It marked the first career goal for Baker.

Hawke doubled the lead at 86:05.  Senior Kevin Pahl dribbled to the end line on the left side of the box on a counter attack before sending a low cross into the path of Hawke, who hammered a one-timer past Rohde for his third goal of the season.

Lissek finished with two saves to notch his second straight clean sheet and improve to 3-1-2 on the year.  Rohde made one save in a losing effort.  

UNCG concluded the match with an 11-8 shots lead, while both clubs totaled three shots on goal.

Furman puts its undefeated league record on the line again on Tuesday when it travels to Macon, Ga., to face defending regular season champion Mercer at 7 p.m.

Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information