Greenville, S.C. -- Winthrop's Brandon Anselmo scored in the 22nd minute as the Eagles edged Furman, 1-0, in preseason men's soccer action Saturday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.

The start of the match was delayed 38 minutes by lightning and another strike in the vicinity of Stone Stadium stopped play in the sixth minute with the match scoreless. After a delay of over 45 minutes, the match was restarted and Winthrop grabbed the lead as Anselmo ran onto a pass in the midfield, escaped three defenders and slotted a shot to the right corner for the lone goal of the night at 21:12.

"Winthrop played well tonight and earned the victory," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "We'll learn from the experience tonight and continue to get better as we prepare for the opening weekend at Ohio State."

Furman managed a 15-7 edge in shots and 5-4 advantage in shots on target, but three Eagle goalkeepers combined to make five saves and keep the Paladins off the board. Senior Danny Kierath had scoring opportunities on either side of the break and Miles Fenton narrowly missed on a pair of second half chances to equalize for Furman.

Goalkeeper Ben Hale finished with three saves for Furman, two coming in the final 10 minutes of the first half to keep the Paladins within striking distance.

Furman opens the regular season on Friday, August 24, when it faces Ohio State in the Wolstein Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The Paladins host Presbyterian in the home opener on September 8.

A combined men's and women's soccer season ticket is on sale at FurmanPaladins.com for $30 and includes admission to all men's and women's home games and a limited edition Furman Soccer Scarf for the first 100 customers. Single game tickets are now on sale for $5 each and also available at FurmanPaladins.com.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information