Greenville, S.C. – East Tennessee State scored a pair of second half goals and Cole Hunter registered seven saves as the Bucs blanked the Paladins, 2-0, on Senior Night Saturday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, ETSU improved to 8-5-2 overall and took sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference standings at 3-0-1. Furman dropped to 7-4-3 overall and 2-1-1 in league play.
"That was a very good Southern Conference game between two good teams," said Paladin head coach
Doug Allison. "We dominated the first half. They were able to score on the counter-attack to take the lead. We pushed forward and nearly scored the equalizer before they got the late penalty."
Furman controlled 62% of the possession over the opening 45 minutes and managed a 10-5 advantage in shot attempts, but the match went to halftime knotted at 0-0. ETSU finally broke the deadlock in the 64
th minute when Tarik Pannholzer won possession in his own half and fed Louie Salkeld down the right wing. He slid a cross through the box and Kieran Richards finished from close range to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead at 63:39.
The Paladins turned up the pressure in search of the equalizer in the final 25 minutes.
Christian Kraus had his shot cleared off the line by the Bucs' defense in the 67
th minute and Hunter stopped
Slade Starnes' goal-bound header with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
ETSU put the game away in the 89
th minute when Furman was whistled for a foul in the box and Pannholzer stepped up to the penalty spot to double the lead at 88:26. The spot kick marked the fifth goal of the season for Pannholzer.
Furman posted a 19-12 margin in total shots and an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.
Aaron Salinas made two saves in a losing effort for the Paladins.
Prior to kickoff, the Paladins honored seniors
Josh Hosie,
Sebastian Serpa,
Tommy Redhead,
Callum Holland,
Jake Raine,
Dylan Lane,
Callum Allison,
Christian Newman, Alfredo Diaz-Santillian,
Conor Dowler,
Charlie Boone, and
Denison Jones.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday evening at UNC Asheville before traveling to Wofford on Saturday, October 28, for the regular season finale. A win over the Terriers would clinch a top two finish in the SoCon standings for the Paladins and earn Furman a home match in the semifinal round of the SoCon Men's Soccer Championship.
