Greenville, S.C. – Furman and Mercer played to a 1-1 draw in Southern Conference men's soccer action Saturday in the regular season finale and Quinn Game for Down Syndrome awareness at Stone Stadium.
With the tie, Furman (7-3-4, 2-1-2 SoCon) claims the fourth seed in the upcoming SoCon Men's Soccer Championship and will face a rematch against the fifth-seeded Bears (6-4-7, 1-2-2 SoCon) in the opening round of the postseason on Friday, November 8, at 7 p.m. at UNCG Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. The winner will advance to face top-seed UNC Greensboro in the semifinal round on Sunday, November 10.
After the Paladins celebrated Quinn Cronin, the 12-year-old daughter of former Furman standout McNeil Cronin, in pregame festivities to raise awareness for Down Syndrome, Mercer grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 22
nd minute. Carlos Santamaria sent a free kick towards the left post that Kadeem Agard headed across the box to Sekou Agard. The senior punched a shot through traffic at 21:38 to open the scoring with his fifth goal of the season.
Furman managed a 21-9 advantage in total shot attempts and 7-5 edge in shots on goal, but the Paladins had to wait until the final six minutes to find the equalizer.
Jack Travis sent a throw-in to the near side of the box that
Ryan Wagner flicked into the path of senior
Ivan Agyaakwah. The London, England, native lined a shot past Mercer goalkeeper Trevor McMullen at the 84:07 mark to even the match at 1-1.
"It was a special night and always a lot of fun to honor Quinn and have her family here at Stone Stadium," said Paladin head coach
Doug Allison. "We also appreciate Mercer and Coach Russo for taking part and helping us to make it a great night for all the kids. We are looking forward to next week's tournament and the opportunity to play for a championship."
Both teams produced chances in the final minutes only to be denied by McMullen and Furman keeper
Aaron Salinas. McMullen finished with four saves and had his back line clear two shots away while Salinas stopped three shots and got one save from his back line.
UNCG clinched the SoCon regular season title with a win over ETSU. Both schools will receive a first-round bye and host semifinal match-ups next weekend.
2024 SoCon Men's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 8
Campus sites
Match 1: No. 4 Furman vs. No. 5 Mercer, 7 p.m. (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 2: No. 3 Wofford vs. No. 6 VMI, 1 p.m. (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Championship Semifinals, Sunday, Nov. 10
Campus sites (at higher seeds)
Match 3: No. 1 UNCG vs. Match 1 winner, 2 p.m. (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 4: No. 2 ETSU vs. Match 2 winner, 2 p.m. (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Finals, Saturday, Nov. 16 or Sunday, Nov. 17
Campus site (at highest remaining seed)
Match 5: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
