Greenville, S.C. – Senior
Christian Kraus netted the match-winning goal and sophomore
Aaron Salinas, the tournament's most outstanding player, notched his fifth shutout of the season as No. 4 seed Furman blanked No. 2 seed ETSU, 2-0, in the Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship Final Sunday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn.
With the victory, the Paladins (9-3-5) secured the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will find out their first-round opponent and game location on Monday when the NCAA Selection Show airs at 1 p.m. on NCAASports.com. The tournament is slated to begin with first round matches on Thursday, November 21 with the second round slated for November 24.
The title marked the 15
th for Furman and 10
th under the leadership of head coach
Doug Allison. The Paladins will be making their 12
th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since defeating UNCG, 3-0, at Summers-Taylor Stadium in the 2018 finals.
"I'm so happy for the boys, especially our seniors," said Allison. "Our captains provided great leadership and it's always great to get the shutout. Also, we appreciate the support of all the fans who made the trip from Greenville."
Furman wasted little time grabbing the lead against the host Buccaneers.
Lloyd Wamu Snell fired a long throw into the box that was headed to the ground inside the six-yard box. An ETSU defender attempted to clear the danger, but Furman's
Wilfer Bustamante intercepted the clearance inside the box. He struck a left-footed shot towards the left side of the net that Kraus redirected past the goalkeeper at 3:33 to give Furman the lead.
Goalkeeper
Aaron Salinas kept ETSU off the board in the 10
th minute when Gabriel Ramos found himself free in the box and the Paladin sophomore raced off his line to deflect Ramos' shot attempt out of play. Bustamante,
Wesley Siegel, and
Caleb Johnson all had shots blocked inside the box in the opening 45 minutes while
Diego Hernandez put a shot on target that ETSU's Marc Kouadio saved.
The Paladins limited the Bucs to just four total shots and one on target in the second half.
Caleb Johnson added the insurance goal that Furman needed in the 70
th minute thanks to the hustle of
Lloyd Wamu Snell. The Paladin forward chased down and won a long ball over the top from Kraus and created a two-versus-one situation. Wamu Snell slid a pass to Johnson on the left side of the box and the Atlanta, Ga., native's strike glanced off a defender and into the left-hand corner at the 69:46 mark to double the Paladin lead.
Salinas finished the match with three saves while Kouadio turned away three shots for the Bucs. Furman managed a 15-9 margin in total shots and 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Each team earned five corner kicks.
Joining Salinas on the All-SoCon Tournament Team were
Slade Starnes, Kraus, and Wamu Snell.
Jack Travis claimed the pinnacle award for having the top GPA on the winning team.
2024 SoCon Men's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 8
Campus sites
Match 1: No. 4 Furman 2, No. 5 Mercer 0 (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 2: No. 3 Wofford 3, No. 6 VMI 0 (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Championship Semifinals, Sunday, Nov. 10
Campus sites (at higher seeds)
Match 3: No. 4 Furman 1, No. 1 UNCG 1 (FU advances on PKs, 6-5) (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 4: No. 3 Wofford 1, No. 2 ETSU 1 (ETSU advances on PKs, 5-3) (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Finals, Sunday, Nov. 17
Johnson City, Tenn.
Match 5: No. 4 Furman 2, No. 2 ETSU 0
