Greenville, S.C. – The ninth-ranked Furman men's soccer team returns to action on Thursday evening when it hosts former Southern Conference rival Davidson in the annual Gray Griffin Memorial Match.
Kickoff on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium is set for 6 p.m. and admission is free. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Faxon Childress and Nate Warrick on the call. Links to the video stream and live statistics can be found on the men's soccer schedule page at FurmanPaladins.com.
Tuesday'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.
"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."
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.
Furman enters Thursday's match at 2-0-2 on the year following a 1-1 draw versus top 10 Duke in front of a crowd of more than 2,800 Sunday at Stone Stadium. Junior
Landon Hill, who scored the lone goal for the Paladins, earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday for his efforts.
The Paladins hold a 32-24-4 lead in the all-time series versus Davidson. The schools played to a scoreless draw in last season's meeting in Davidson, N.C. The Wildcats come to Greenville sporting a 2-1-0 record following last Friday's 2-1 loss to nationally-ranked Gardner-Webb.
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.
