Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's soccer team goes in search of its fourth consecutive win on Tuesday night when the Paladins host College of Charleston in the Gray Griffin Memorial Game on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live statistics provided through StatBroadcast. Links for the live stream and live stats can be found at FurmanPaladins.com. Admission to Tuesday's match and all of Furman's regular season homes games is free.
Saturday's match is named in honor of former Paladin defender and United States Under-17 National Team captain, Gray Griffin, who was killed in a traffic accident in October of 2002 during his freshman year at Furman. The 2001 and 2002 United Soccer Coaches and Parade All-America selection played in and started the first 12 matches of the 2002 campaign for Furman, tallying a goal in the Paladins' overtime victory versus UNC Greensboro and earning all-tournament honors at Notre Dame's tournament in September.
"It's special for our program to be able to honor the memory of Gray Griffin," said Paladin head coach
Doug Allison. "This game allows us to continue to share what an outstanding friend, teammate, and son he was and what he meant to so many people. Gray's No. 12 is the only jersey we have retired in our program, and we are always thankful to have his father, Al Griffin, back on campus to talk to our team."
The 2002 Paladins, led by standouts Clint Dempsey and Ricardo Clark, rallied together following Griffin's death to set an NCAA record with 11 consecutive shutouts and advance to the NCAA Tournament's round of 16. Furman finished the season at 19-3-1, captured a Southern Conference title, and secured a No. 8 national ranking.
The 2023 Paladins enter Tuesday's match on a three-game winning streak following a dramatic 2-1 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday night at Stone Stadium. With the match knotted at 1-1 in the 90
th minute, Furman won possession near midfield.
Josh Hosie played the ball down the right side to LaShawn Brown who sent a cross into the box.
Christian Kraus' effort was redirected by a defender into the path of
Jake Raine and the senior volleyed a bouncing shot past the Runnin' Bulldogs' defense as time expired to lift the Paladins to victory.
Saturday's victory improved the Paladins to 4-2-0 on the season and Raine's decisive goal marked his first of the season. Thursday's match will be the 37
th all-time meeting between Furman and College of Charleston and first since the Cougars captured a 2-1 decision in 2021. The Paladins hold a 20-11-5 lead in the series versus their former Southern Conference rival.
College of Charleston remained undefeated on the season at 2-0-4 overall and 1-0-2 in the CAA following a 1-1 draw versus UNC Wilmington in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., on Saturday.
