Greenville, S.C. – No. 4 seed Belmont netted a pair of goals in the final 12 minutes to break a 1-1 tie and down top-seeded and 25^th-ranked Furman, 3-1, in the Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship semifinal round on Friday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium in Greenville, S.C.
 
The Bruins (7-2-2) advanced to the SoCon Championship Match next weekend and will go on the road to face the winner of tomorrow's UNCG-ETSU semifinal contest. 
 
With under 12 minutes remaining in regulation and the match knotted at 1-1, Belmont's Jack Shaw served a corner kick inside the six-yard box. An attempted clearance went only as far as AJ Chastonay who collected the ball and fired through traffic to find the back of the net at the 78:59 mark.
 
Furman (7-2-1) pushed forward in an effort to tie the game in the waning moments, and Belmont doubled its lead on the counter-attack. Niccolo Dagnoni and Ares Marlonsson setup Michael Saunders, who tapped his shot into an empty net with 1:00 left on the clock to seal the Bruins' victory. 
 
"Congratulations to Belmont and good luck to them in the finals," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison. "Coach Costa had his team playing really well. I'm proud of our team, especially our seniors, for all they have accomplished this season and the leadership they have provided through COVID."
 
Belmont opened the scoring in the 10^th minute when Shaw served a cross from the right wing that Liam O'Brien headed back across the face of goal and into the right corner at the 9:39 mark. The Paladins equalized at 61:33 on Jake Raine's sixth goal of the season. Miles Fenton pushed the ball wide to Josh Hosie and the freshman picked out Raine on the left side of the box. The Stoke, England, native got a foot to the bouncing cross and redirected into net to tie the game at 1-1.
 
The Bruins nearly regained the lead in the 72^nd minute after being awarded a penalty kick, but redshirt-senior Ben Hale, the SoCon Player and Goalkeeper of the Year, stepped up to save Shaw's spot kick to keep the match even. Hale finished with three saves, while Belmont's Drew Romig stopped two shots to earn the win.
 
Furman posted a 12-10 edge in total shots, but the Bruins managed a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.