Greenville, S.C. – Sophomore
Erin Houlihan netted a pair of goals and forward
Kyndal Anderson scored her first career goal as Furman blanked Elon, 3-0, in the Paladins' home opener Sunday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.
With its third straight victory, Furman improved to 3-1-0 on the season. The Phoenix suffered their first loss of 2019 to drop to 3-1-0.
"I'm proud of the way we played today against a good Elon team," said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr. "We kept the pressure on them for most of the game and Erin and Kyndal were able to finish capitalize on our chances."
After dominating the possession in the early going, Furman broke the scoreless tie in the 22
nd minute.
Ellie Laxer served a corner kick to the left side of the box. Freshman
Jasmine Greene headed the cross towards the right post and Houlihan gave Furman the lead by sliding onto the ball and lifting her shot into the top netting at the 21:38 mark. Houlihan doubled the lead with her second goal of the afternoon just 24 seconds into the second half.
Amanda Baker delivered a cross from high on the left wing towards the top of the box and Houlihan walled off her defender before firing a shot past Elon goalkeeper Katrin Hauksdottir.
Furman continued to pile on the pressure and found its third and final goal of the day at the 74:04 mark off of another set piece.
Erin O'Hearn played her corner kick to
Angela Steidl who served a lofted cross to the top of the six-yard box where Anderson nodded her shot into the left-hand side for her first collegiate goal.
The Paladins managed a 19-11 edge in total shots, while both teams recorded six shots on goal. Senior
Kellsey Weaver and
Nora Sampson combined on the shutout with Weaver registering five saves and Sampson stopping one shot. Hauksdottir tallied two saves for the Phoenix.
Furman travels to face Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. on Friday before entertaining the Oregon Ducks at Stone Stadium on Sunday, September 8, at 5 p.m.
