Birmingham, Ala. – Carolina Smith converted a penalty kick I the 107
th minute to lift No. 1 seed Samford to a 3-2 victory over No. 5 seed Furman in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship Sunday afternoon at Shauna Yelton Field.
With the victory, Samford (12-2-5) advanced to the SoCon Championship Match and will host No. 6 seed Mercer in the final next weekend. Furman finishes its season at 10-4-5.
Tied at 2-2 and down to 10 players following a red card shown to Alex Parr in the 97
th minute, Samford drew a foul in the middle of the box at the 106:07 mark. Following a video review, the penalty was confirmed, and Smith slotted her shot into the left-hand corner past a diving
Reese DeJong to give the Bulldogs the victory.
"It hurts to lose a game that way, but I'm incredibly proud of our team and their effort," said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr. "We never quit, fought from behind, and showed tremendous grit once again. Our seniors are a special group, and we will all miss them."
Furman trailed the match 2-0 early in the second half before
Emma Sexton sent a cross to the left side of the box that freshman
Katelyn Nixon punched inside the near post to halve the Samford advantage at 55:35. The Paladins were awarded a free kick in the 73
rd minute and
Ellie Herrmann ripped her set piece into the lower, right-hand corner from almost 28 yards out to equalize at the 72:36 mark.
The best chance of overtime, prior to the winning penalty kick, came late in the first 10-minute period when the Bulldogs rattled the post on a long-distance chance. Samford outshot the Paladins 20-17, but Furman finished with a 9-5 edge in shots on goal.
Samford opened the scoring in the 29
th minute off a set piece. The Bulldogs served a long free kick into the middle of the box that was headed off the left post by Martha Bishop. The rebound bounced across the face of goal and Becca Koenig won the race to the loose ball to redirect it into the empty net at the 28:36 mark.
Furman created several dangerous chances over the final 15 minutes ad
Caroline Moseley fired over the bar and
Callah Dando nearly evened the match when her backheel flick from the middle of the box went just wide of the left post. The Paladins came out on the attack in the second half, but Samford scored a goal against the run of play in the 53
rd minute. The Bulldogs deflected a failed clearance in the Furman half to create a three-versus-two break.
DeJong posted two saves for the Paladins while Peyton Hull totaled seven stops to earn the victory in goal for Samford.
2025 Women's Soccer Championship
Tuesday, Oct. 28
First Round (at higher seeds)
Match 1: No. 8 Wofford 2, No. 9 The Citadel 1
Match 2: No. 7 UNCG 2, No 10 VMI 0
Friday, Oct. 31
Quarterfinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 3: No. 1 Samford 2, No. 8 Wofford 0
Match 4: No. 5 Furman 2, No. 4 Chattanooga 1 (OT)
Match 5: No. 2 Western Carolina 4, No. 7 UNCG 3 (OT)
Match 6: No. 6 Mercer 2, No. 3 ETSU 1
Sunday, Nov. 2
Semifinals (at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds)
Match 7: No. 6 Mercer 1, No. 2 Western Carolina 0, OT2 (Cullowhee, North Carolina)
Match 8: No. 1 Samford 3, No. 5 Furman 2, OT2 (Birmingham, Alabama)
Saturday, Nov. 8, or Sunday, Nov. 9
Final (Highest remaining seed, location TBD)
Match 9: No. 6 Mercer at No. 1 Samford, TBD
*all times Eastern unless otherwise noted
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