Greenville, S.C. – Riley O'Bryan and
Bri Pinasco netted first half goals to power Furman to a 2-0 victory over Wofford in the Southern Conference women's soccer opener for both schools Thursday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the win, Furman improved to 6-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in league play while the Terriers slipped to 3-4-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the SoCon.
Furman opened the game on the attack and controlled 65% of the first half possession. In the ninth minute,
Norah Roller dribbled into the right side of the box and setup O'Bryan for a tap-in on the right side of the six-yard box to put the Paladins in front. The goal marked the team-leading sixth of the season for the junior.
After dominating most of the first half and holding the Terriers without a shot, Pinasco doubled the lead at 40:47 with her fifth goal of the season. The senior collected the ball on the left edge of the box and curled a right-footed strike that struck the crossbar in the upper right-hand corner and landed less than a foot over the line.
"Tonight was a great way to start conference play,' said Paladin head coach
Andrew Burr. "We got the three points and earned the shutout. I'm proud of the way we responded and protected the home field. Now we'll focus on recovery and prepare for Sunday at Tennessee Tech."
Junior
Reese DeJong stopped two Wofford shots to register her fourth clean sheet of the season. It marked the 11th shutout of her career to move the Huntersville, N.C., native into seventh on Furman's career ledger. Elizabeth Navola recorded five saves for the Terriers.
The Paladins finished with a 21-2 margin in total shots and 7-1 edge in shots on goal while earning 11 corner kicks to just one for Wofford.
Furman travels to Cookeville, Tenn., to face Tennessee Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Sunday's match will mark the first SoCon meeting between the Paladins and Golden Eagles, who joined the league this summer.
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