Lexington, Va. – Furman responded to a second half confrontation and red card issued to VMI by firing in four goals over the final 40 minutes to top the Keydets, 4-0, in the Southern Conference women's soccer regular season road finale for the Paladins on Sunday afternoon at Patchin Field in Lexington, Va.
 
After a scoreless first half that featured scoring opportunities for both teams, Furman's Shania Diaz dribbled by VMI's Lauren Fyfe five minutes into the second half when Fyfe grabbed the midfielder's jersey. As the whistle blew for a Paladin free kick, Fyfe refused to let go, creating a shoving match that resulted in Fyfe being sent off and Diaz being issued a yellow card.
 
Just 43 seconds later, Valentina Mosquera collected a rebound on the left side of the box following a shot off the crossbar and fired across the goal into the left side netting to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead at the 50:53 mark. Furman doubled its lead at 56:01 when Nieva Gaither connected with Ashlyn Goila's corner kick to line a shot off the left post. The ball caromed across the face of goal and Helen Gutierrez redirected it into the net after a failed clearance attempt by a VMI defender on the goal line. The goal marked the second of the season for Gutierrez.
 
In the 75^th minute, Gutierrez set up a third goal for Furman. The Statesboro, Ga., native played a short corner to defender Camryn Bolick on the right wing and the junior looped a long shot over the VMI goalkeeper and into the left-hand corner for her first career goal. Senior Julia Nicholas capped the scoring in the 90^th minute by finishing from close range on an assist from Julie Galie.
 
"I was proud of the way our team responded today and the toughness we showed on the road," said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. "It was great to get four goals, pick up a shutout, and build some momentum heading into the final week of the regular season."
 
The Paladins dominated the chances in the match with a commanding 29-4 advantage in total shots and 13-2 margin in shots on goal. Nora Sampson and Addison Corn combined to record Furman's eighth shutout of the season with Sampson notching two saves. Jillian made eight saves in a losing effort for the Keydets (1-14-1, 0-7 SoCon).
 
Furman (8-7-1, 3-3-1 SoCon) caps the regular season next weekend at Stone Soccer Stadium when it hosts preseason SoCon favorite Samford on Friday at 6 p.m. and first-place Chattanooga on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at FurmanPaladins.com and both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.