Cullowhee, N.C. – Sophomore Reese DeJong totaled a career-high 15 saves and Maddie Massie scored the lone goal of the match as Furman stunned two-time defending Southern Conference regular season champion Western Carolina, 1-0, in women's soccer action Friday evening at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
 
The Paladins, who extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches, improved to 8-1-2 overall and 2-0-1 in SoCon play. Western Carolina fell to 5-4-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the SoCon after suffering its first regular season home loss in league play since a 2-1 defeat to the Paladins at the Catamount Athletic Complex on September 24, 2023.
 
DeJong's first-half brilliance set the stage for Furman to claim the victory. The Huntersville, N.C., native stopped eight shots in the opening 45 minutes, including a diving stop on Sofia Goclowski's penalty kick at the 20:10 mark to keep the match scoreless at intermission.
 
Western Carolina controlled much of the possession in the opening minutes after the restart, but Furman's Jessica Mattson helped flip the script in the 63^rd minute. The freshman won the ball in the midfield and dribbled down the center of the pitch before sliding a pass behind the back line to put Massie in a one-versus-one situation with Catamount goalkeeper Leanna Trudel. The junior calmly fired a left-footed shot over Trudel's left shoulder at the 62:53 mark for her fifth goal of the campaign.
 
DeJong recorded six saves over the final 27 minutes to notch her fourth solo shutout of the season. Western Carolina's best chance at an equalizing in the final minutes came with just over five minutes to play when the ball fell to the feet of Ava Robataille at the top of the six-yard box following a corner kick, but the Catamount senior fired her shot over the bar.
 
"I'm incredibly proud of our team's grit and resolve tonight," said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. "Reese DeJong had an outstanding first half to keep us in the game, Jessica Mattson and Maddie Massie combined on a great goal in the second half, and our back line did a tremendous job to finish off a shutout against a very talented opponent. Six points from two road matches this week is huge for us."
 
The Catamounts finished with a 30-12 advantage in total shots and 15-5 margin in shots on goal. Trudel posted four saves in goal for WCU.
 
The Paladins' victory improved them to 24-10-1 in the all-time series versus Western Carolina, including an 11-3-1 advantage in matchups in Cullowhee.
 
Furman concludes its three-match road trip on Thursday night when it travels to Greensboro, N.C. to face the UNC Greensboro Spartans in SoCon action.
 
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.