Greenville, S.C. – Jake Raine and Christian Kraus netted goals to pace the Furman Paladins to a 2-0 shutout of USC Upstate in non-conference men's soccer action Tuesday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.
 
With its second straight clean sheet, Furman improved to 6-3-1 on the season while the Spartans slid to 3-5-2.
 
"We're happy to get a win against a USC Upstate team that has been playing well lately," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison. "It's always great to get the shutout and to see our forwards score goals."
 
Furman wasted little time taking the lead. Dylan Lane was taken down in the box less than three minutes into the match and Raine converted from the penalty spot for his second goal of the season at the 2:34 mark.
 
After USC Upstate outshot the Paladins 8-7 over the opening 45 minutes, Furman dominated the chances in the second half. Kraus doubled the Paladin lead just 3:45 after the restart when Luke Tandy found Ivan Agyaakwah on the left wing and the junior served a perfect cross into the box for Kraus to touch past the Spartans' goalkeeper at 48:45. The goal marked the team-leading fifth of the season for Kraus.
 
USC Upstate rattled the post with a late shot, but Furman cleared the danger and goalkeeper Cameron Maung-Maung, making his first start in a month, stopped the Spartans' lone shot on target to notch the shutout. Noah Kump totaled three saves for USC Upstate.
 
Furman managed a 12-10 edge in total shots and 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Spartans were issued eight yellow cards on the night.
 
The Paladins jump back into SoCon play on Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff versus the VMI Keydets in Lexington, Va.