Charleston, S.C. – Furman women's soccer found the back of the net five times to remain unbeaten in Southern Conference play with a 5-0 shutout of The Citadel Sunday afternoon at Washington Light Infantry Field.
With the win, the Paladins improved to 8-3-2 overall and 3-0-1 in league play while The Citadel slid to 6-3-4 overall and 1-2-2 in the SoCon.
"I'm very proud of our team's effort and connection this afternoon," said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr. "We created chances for one another no matter which 11 players were on the field, and we got the shutout. It's been an emotional week at Furman and our players wanted to play this match for their fellow Paladin Luke Munson. All of us are thinking of Luke and wishing him the best."
Senior
Bri Pinasco put Furman in front with her team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 17
th minute. She received a pass on the left side of the box and worked to create space before unleashing a shot that skipped over the foot of
Riley O'Bryan and past The Citadel goalkeeper at the 16:17 mark.
Jaleah Simmons doubled the lead in the 36
th minute on her first goal of the year. Right back
Ellie Herrmann curled a cross over the top that Simmons settled a step outside the top of the box and lined into the right-hand corner from 19 yards out to give Furman a 2-0 cushion at 35:24.
Furman added three insurance goals in the second half, including back-to-back scores from freshman
Kate Kuzemka. At 66:01, Kuzemka took a centering pass from Simmons near the top of the box and laced a shot into the left side of the net to up the margin to 3-0. Less than eight minutes later, Herrmann provided another pinpoint cross from the right wing and a charging Kuzemka drove her header into the left side for her second score of the afternoon at 73:28.
Simmons closed out the scoring with her second goal of the match at the 75:42 mark. Freshman and Wando High School product
Marlie Nagle made a long run down the right side to draw the attention of the defense before sliding a pass to an unmarked Simmons in the middle of the box for an easy finish to complete the 5-0 scoreline.
Junior
Reese DeJong posted three saves to earn the shutout for the Paladins while Zoe Santos saved six shots for the Bulldogs. Furman finished with a 23-8 advantage in total shot attempts and 14-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Paladins travel to Birmingham, Ala., on Friday night to face league rival Samford in a crucial SoCon match.
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