Greenville, S.C. – Junior
Wilfer Bustamante scored two goals as Furman tallied four in the second half to prevail over VMI, 6-1, in the "Quinn Game" for Down Syndrome Awareness presented by Bon Secours St. Francis Health System Saturday on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Senior
Landon Hill opened the scoring at 14:38 when VMI attempted to clear a Furman corner kick and
Jack Travis head a pass into the the six-yard box for Hill to sweep past the Keydet goalkeeper for his second score of the season. Sophomore
Braden Dunham doubled the margin at 23:15.
Connor Stout curled a corner kick towards goal that VMI's Santiago Rocha tried to punch clear of danger, but Dunham pounced on the clearance and tapped in his shot for his second goal of 2026.
After VMI's Yeirin Mejia got the Keydets on the board late in the 43
rd minute, Furman responded with four second-half goals to pull away. Bustamante collected a failed clearance in the box and fired a shot past VMI reserve goalkeeper Ben Bruzonic at 58:12. Less than five minutes later, Bruzonic came off his line and slid at the top of the box to clear a loose ball, but
Diego Hernandez settled the ball before curling a shot into the empty net from 25 yards to increase the margin to 4-1 at 62:19.
Bustamante headed in his second goal of the afternoon at 67:25 off assists from
Jack Travis and
Ryan Wagner before
Trip Campbell capped the scoring at 71:34 off assists from Stout and Bustamante.
"It's always great to have Quinn Cronin back at Stone Stadium to celebrate her and raise awareness about Down Syndrome," said Paladin head coach
Brandon Tucker. "I'm happy to have a lot of guys get their first significant minutes today and for several to score goals. Thanks to everyone for coming out in these conditions."
Saturday's "Quinn Game" was created to promote awareness for Down Syndrome and to honor one of the program's biggest fans, 14-year-old Quinn Cronin, the daughter of former Furman soccer standout McNeil Cronin ('04). The match started at noon after originally being scheduled for 5 p.m. Most of the match was played in steady rain and stiff winds with soaked field conditions.
The Paladins managed a 22-7 advantage in total shots and an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Three goalkeepers saw playing time for Furman with
Ivan Horvat notching two saves. Bruzonic recorded one save for the Keydets (4-10-1, 0-3-0 SoCon)
Furman (4-3-4, 2-1-0 SoCon) continues its homestand on Friday, October 16, at 6 p.m. when it hosts ACC opponent Virginia Tech at Stone Stadium. Admission is free.
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