Macon, Ga. – Furman notched its third consecutive shutout and remained unbeaten in Southern Conference women's soccer play with a 2-0 victory over the Mercer Bears in the Paladins' regular season road finale Thursday evening at Betts Stadium.
The Paladins, 12-3-3 overall and 7-0-2 in the SoCon, host Western Carolina in the regular season finale Sunday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium and can secure at least a share of the league title with a victory over the Catamounts.
"Going on the road against Mercer is always incredibly difficult so it's great to get the win," said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr. "Our concentration and focus continue to improvement each game and we can't wait to return home this weekend. We hope to see everyone at Stone Stadium on Sunday afternoon."
Furman grabbed the first half lead in the 31
st minute on
Riley O'Bryan's seventh goal of the season. Shortly after entering the match, senior
Alyssa England carried the ball down the left side before playing a cross towards the middle of the box. O'Bryan rose to head the pass inside the right post at the 30:59 mark to open the scoring.
In the 58
th minute, graduate student
Ellie Herrmann doubled the Furman lead on her first goal of the season. The Paladins earned a free kick nearly 40 yards out and the defender from Charlotte, N.C. struck a perfectly placed free kick to deposit her set piece into the top right corner.
Junior
Reese DeJong, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, stopped four shots to record her seventh clean sheet of the season and Furman's 10
th in 18 matches. Avery Parker made three saves for Mercer.
The Bears (7-8-3, 2-5-2 SoCon) managed an 11-10 edge in total shots while both teams registered five shots on goal. Mercer earned eight corner kicks to just one for the Paladins.
Sunday's regular season finale versus Western Carolina is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff and admission at Stone Stadium is free.
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.
