Greenville, S.C. -- Clemson netted two goals in the final nine minutes of the first half and Furman failed to capitalize on several opportunities in the second half as the Tigers downed the Paladins, 3-0, before a crowd of 2,945 Tuesday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.

With the victory, Clemson snapped Furman's three-game series winning streak and improved to 4-1-1 on the season.  The Paladins fell to 1-2-2.

After both teams controlled their share of possession in the midfield during the first half, Clemson broke through in the 37th minute.  A ball over the top led to a foul at the top of the Furman box and a yellow card shown to the Paladins' Kyle McLagan.  T.J. Casner stepped up and wrapped his low, driving shot around the Furman wall and into the right-hand corner at 36:38 to put Clemson on top, 1-0.

Just 37 seconds later, Iman Mafi found Kyle Murphy streaking down the left channel.  Murphy ran onto Mafi's pass and fired a one-timer that beat Paladin goalkeeper Jonathan Smith, who had replaced Sven Lissek due to injury in the 25th minute, and snuck inside the left post at 37:15.

Clemson ended hopes of a second half comeback just 10:24 after the restart when Smith denied Saul Chinchilla on a shot at the right post, but Oliver Shannon controlled the rebound and played a pass to the far post that Austen Burnikel tapped into an empty net to up the Tigers' lead to 3-0.

Following a sprawling save by Smith in the 70th minute, Furman began to created its own opportunities.  Danny Kierath unlocked the Clemson defense on a counter attack with a through ball down the right wing for Evan De Ycaza, but the junior's shot was deflected wide by Clemson keeper Andrew Tarbell.

In the 72nd minute, freshman Josiah Baker weaved his way through four Tiger defenders and into the left side of the box only to see his shot miss wide.  Less than a minute later, Baker sprinted by the Clemson defense to chase down a long ball over the top and was taken down from behind to earn a Furman penalty kick.  Marco Carrizales, however, fired high on the spot kick at the 72:17 mark.

Tarbell finished with two saves to earn the victory in net for the Tigers, while Smith stopped four shots in a losing effort for Furman.

Clemson managed a 12-7 edge in shots and 7-2 advantage in shots on goal.

Furman continues its homestand on Friday when it welcomes the Stetson Hatters to Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.  First kick is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets for Friday's match are available online at FurmanPaladins.com or at the Stone Stadium entrance beginning one hour prior to kickoff.

Friday's match will be streamed live on the SoCon Digital Network and live statistics will be available through StatBroadcast.  Links for both can be found at FurmanPaladins.com. Fans can also follow @FurmanSoccer on Twitter for updates throughout the match.  


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information