October 19, 2008
UNC Greensboro Edges Furman In Paladins' Home Finale, 3-2
Greenville, S.C. -- Leigh Riordon scored her first goal of the season in the 69th minute to break a 2-2 deadlock and give UNC Greensboro a 3-2 victory over Furman in the home finale for the Paladins Sunday afternoon at Stone Soccer Stadium.
UNCG extended its Southern Conference regular season unbeaten streak to 28 matches while improving to 12-4-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the league. Furman dropped to 10-6-1 overall and 4-4 in the SoCon.
With the match tied at 2-2, Lauren Lopez played a long ball from midfield into the box and Riordon volleyed the bouncing ball into net at 68:16 for the match-winning goal.
Furman grabbed an early lead at 15:11 when Martha Hall directed a low Rachel Fry cross to the right side past Spartan goalkeeper Kelsey Kearney for her eighth goal of the season. The tally halted UNCG’s six-match shutout streak and ended Kearney’s shutout string at 647 minutes.
Mary Kate Towne knotted the match at 1-1 shortly after the break on her fourth goal of the campaign. Towne lined a 23-yard shot that Furman keeper Jessica Smith failed to tip over the bar. The shot deflected off of the bar and Smith could not handle the ball before it bounced over the goal line at 46:44.
Less than seven minutes later Kristin Player put the Spartans on top running onto a Heather Deutschle through ball and slotting a shot past Smith at the 53rd minute mark to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead.
Lucy Martin rallied Furman in the 58th minute, scoring her third goal of the season to tie the match at 3-3. Katya Gokhman delivered a corner kick towards the near post, Hall flicked the ball into the middle of the six-yard box and Martin headed it into the top-side netting at 57:54.
Furman had an opportunity to equalized in the final minutes, but Rachel Fry’s driving header off of Meagan Zusi’s corner kick was cleared off of the line by a UNCG defender.
UNCG held a 9-6 edge in shot attempts with each team recording six shots on goal. Kearney made three saves for the Spartans and Smith stopped three shots in goal for Furman, including to saves on one-versus-one chances for the Spartans.
UNC Greensboro hosts Georgia Southern on Friday. Furman begins a three-match road trip at the College of Charleston on Friday. Kickoff for both matches is scheduled for 7 p.m.
