Greenville, S.C. – Furman and Samford each netted a goal in the opening 14 minutes, but both teams were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in a battle of Southern Conference women's soccer preseason favorites on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the draw Furman, 5-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the SoCon, maintained its unbeaten run and its hold on first place in the league standings. The Bulldogs moved to 3-1-3 overall and 3-0-2 in league play.
"That was an outstanding match between two very solid soccer teams," said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr, the winningest coach in SoCon history. "Both teams battled hard for 110 minutes, and we'll take the point and look forward to next weekend as we continue working towards our goal of a championship. It was also great to honor our seniors,
Josie Gillespie and
Ellie Laxer, and have them play a big part for us this afternoon. It's a credit to them and this whole team to go undefeated at home for the regular season."
Furman started quickly in the 14
th minute when
Nieva Gaither received the ball on the right side following a throw in, dribbled towards the top of the box and curled a left-footed shot into the far corner to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead at 13:24. On the restart, Samford played the ball directly downfield and drew a foul at the top of the box to earn a penalty kick just 20 seconds later. Taylor Yount converted from the spot to even the match at 1-1 and end Furman's run of over 437 minutes without allowing a goal.
Both teams mounted threats on goal in the second half with each goalkeeper registering three saves in the second 45-minute period. The biggest came near the 70-minute mark when Furman goalkeeper
Addison Corn leaped to push a goal-bound shot off of the cross bar and out of danger. Samford's Morgan McAslan came off of her line to smother shots from
Isabella Gutierrez in the first overtime period and from
Jasmine Greene in the final 10 minutes to secure the draw.
The Bulldogs managed a 21-14 edge in total shots and an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. Corn, a freshman Marietta, Ga., stopped seven shots for Furman, while McAslan turned away five shots for Samford.
Furman visits Western Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. before traveling to ETSU for a 1 p.m. kickoff next Sunday. The Paladins close out the regular season at Wofford on Friday, April 2.
