Greenville, S.C. -- UNCG netted three goals in the final 20 minutes to erase a 2-0 Furman lead as the Spartans downed the Paladins, 3-2, in Southern Conference men's soccer action Tuesday evening on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.

With Furman leading 2-0 and under 20 minutes to play, UNCG's Casey Penland took a long throw-in from the left wing that slipped through the hands of Paladin goalkeeper Jonathan Smith at the near post. Hugo Coicaud slid to ground to sweep the shot into the left corner and trim the Furman lead to 2-1 at the 70:14 mark.

Furman (6-6-2, 2-4-1 SoCon) continued to hold the one-goal lead until Penland collected a loose ball near the top left corner of the 18-yard box and chipped a shot into the far-side netting with 3:57 left in regulation to knot the match at 2-2. It looked like Penland's goal would carry the match into overtime, but with 31 seconds to play in the second half Leeroy Maguraushe's shot rebounded off Smith and into the path of Tevyn Henry who fired in the go-ahead goal to hand UNCG the 3-2 victory.

UNCG (9-4-2, 5-2-0 SoCon), who dominated possession over the final 30 minutes of play, finished with a 17-14 edge in total shots and 11-6 advantage in shots on goal. Logan Rohde turned away four Furman shots to earn the victory in goal, while Smith notched a career-high eight saves in a losing effort.

The Paladins grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first half when Conor Sloan's shot from the top of the box took a deflection off the arm of a Spartan defender and Furman was awarded a penalty kick. Senior Lewis Hawke stepped to the spot and buried his chance at the 35:25 mark to open the scoring.

In the 58th minute, Furman doubled the lead when Emery May was taken down on the left side of the box and Hawke converted his second penalty kick of the night at 57:26 to give the Paladins a 2-0 cushion. The two-goal night gave Hawke a team-high nine goals on the season.

Furman returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to face the ETSU Bucs. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Links for the live video stream and live statistics will be available at FurmanPaladins.com.

Fans can access in-game updates of Furman men's soccer on Twitter by following @FurmanSoccer.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information