Greenville, S.C. – Senior
Diego Hernandez scored off a free kick in the 79
th minute to help Furman rally for a 1-1 draw versus UNC Asheville in the men's soccer home opener Monday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 with less than 12 minutes remaining, the Paladins were fouled just outside the top of the box. Hernandez, who was recently named to the MAC Hermann Watch List, stepped up and curled a low, bouncing free kick through traffic and off the inside of the right post at the 78:23 mark to level the match. The goal marked the second in as many matches this season for the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year.
Hernandez forced Asheville goalkeeper Lucca Barros into a diving save less than 35 seconds later as the Bulldogs held on under heavy pressure from the Paladins to salvage a draw.
"I was proud of our effort to battle back and get the draw, but not happy with the result," said Paladin head coach
Brandon Tucker. "It was great to have a strong crowd supporting us tonight. We'll go back to work and prepare for Duke on Thursday."
UNC Asheville (1-0-1) was awarded a penalty kick following video review in the 10
th minute and Tyler Ware converted his spot kick at 9:44 to put the Bulldogs in front. Furman dominated the chances the rest of the way, including an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal over the final 45 minutes.
The Paladins posted an 18-3 margin in total shots and 10-3 edge in shots on goal while earning 11 corner kicks.
Aaron Salinas totaled two saves for the Paladins and Barros turned away eight shots for Asheville.
Prior to kickoff, Tucker and the Paladins were joined on the field by former head coach Doug Allison as Furman recognized the 2025 squad with the unveiling of its NCAA College Cup banner.
Furman (0-1-1) is back in action on Thursday evening when it travels to Durham, N.C., to face the Duke Blue Devils. The match will be streamed on ACC Network Xtra and links for the live stream and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com.
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