Lexington, Va. – Furman's freshman class accounted for all three goals to power the Paladins to a 3-1 victory over VMI in Southern Conference women's soccer action Thursday afternoon at Patchin Field in Lexington, Va.
 
The victory improved the Paladins to 6-4-5 overall and 2-1-4 in SoCon play. VMI dipped to 2-14-0 overall and 1-6-0 in the conference. With Thursday's win, Furman moved to 3-1-4 over its last eight contests.
 
"Any win on the road is a big win, especially in conference play," said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. "We fought through some adversity at the end of the first half and our freshman really came through for us with some big goals today. Our team prides itself on being low-risk in the back and working as a team and we definitely played that way this afternoon." 
 
Tied at 1-1 with under 14 minutes remaining, Camryn Bolick settled a pass from Ava King on the right wing and served a cross to the far side of the six-yard box where freshman Maddie Massie headed the ball between the VMI goalkeeper and left post at the 76:25 mark to give the Paladins a 2-1 lead. The goal marked the first collegiate score for the freshman from Birmingham, Ala.
 
Moments later, after a scramble in the box, Noemi Casique controlled the ball near the top of the box and blasted a shot into the right side of the net for her second goal of the day to cap the scoring and double the Paladin lead.
 
Addison Corn, making her 49^th career start in goal, recorded three saves to earn the victory in goal. VMI's Jillian Hall finished with six stops in a losing effort for the Keydets.
 
After several close calls over the opening half hour, Casique opened the scoring with her first collegiate goal at the 31:36 mark. Ellie Herrmann chipped a cross from the left wing to the near side of the six-yard box and Casique beat the Hall and a Keydet defender to the loose ball to poke a shot across the goal line.
 
VMI equalized at 40:38 when Riley Boucher lined a shot into the upper left-hand corner past Corn after receiving a pass from Cadee Hegarty.
 
Furman finished the match with a 22-9 advantage in total shots and 9-4 edge in shots on goal. The visitors allowed VMI just one shot on target in the second half and posted a 9-1 edge in corner kicks earned over the full 90 minutes.
 
The Paladins return to Stone Stadium to host Mercer for Senior Day on Sunday, October 15, at 2 p.m. Admission is free.