Greenville, S.C. – Kyndal Anderson and
Nieva Gaither both recorded goals on Sunday afternoon to lead the Furman women's soccer team to a 2-0 Southern Conference victory over the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Senior Day at Stone Stadium.
Furman, who played its final home game of the regular season on Sunday, improves to 8-5-1 on the season and 4-3 in SoCon play. UNC Greensboro drops to 3-6-6 overall and 2-3-2 in the conference.
Anderson was one of eight Paladin seniors to be recognized prior to kickoff along with
Grace Baghdady,
MG Farr,
Isabella Gutierrez,
Faith Hauberg,
Erin Houlihan,
Lauren O'Hearn and
Ellie Perkins.
The Acworth, Ga. native got Furman on the board less than two minutes into the contest on her team-leading eighth goal of the season. The Paladins had possession of the ball on their side of the field with
Camryn Bolick receiving a pass from Baghdady near the far sideline. Bolick lofted a pass to the 18-yard box where Anderson's header from nine yards went inside the right post by UNCG goalkeeper Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper. Bolick was credited with her third assist of the year.
Gaither's fifth goal of the season extended Furman's lead to 2-0 in the 56
th minute, scoring unassisted. The Lilburn, Ga. native stole the ball away from a Spartan player as they were attempting to clear from their side of the field. Gaither spun away and dribbled near the 18-yard box beating another UNCG defender. Her left-footed attempt sailed over the head of Tyler-Cooper and into the top-left corner of the net from 20 yards away.
The victory was the third straight at Stone Stadium for the Paladins as they finished the regular season with six home wins.
Jasmine Greene led Furman with five shots and Anderson provided four, while Baghdady had a team-high two attempts on goal. Paladin goalkeeper
Addison Corn earned her seventh win of the year, and first shutout, after tying a season-high of six saves.
Four different UNC Greensboro players recorded two shots each while Parker Sikora added two attempts on goal. Tyler-Cooper finished with four saves.
The Spartans held a 16-15 advantage in shots while both teams had six attempts on goal. The Paladins led 5-2 in corner kicks.
Furman concludes its regular season next weekend, October 22-24, traveling to Mercer and The Citadel.