August 29, 2008
Furman Blanks Coastal Carolina In Women’s Soccer Season Opener, 2-0
Greenville, S.C. Freshmen Rachel Shelnutt and Alexa Jones each netted their first collegiate goal to lift Furman over Coastal Carolina 2-0 in the Paladins’ season opener Friday evening at the Select Kickoff Classic at Stone Stadium.
Shelnutt slid onto the end of a Kate Myatt cross at the far post in the 36th minute to poke a shot into the left corner and open the scoring. Jones added a late insurance goal just 1:56 from full time as Sara El-Shami fed Lucy Martin down the left side and the Peachtree City, Ga., product slotted a pass across the face of goal for Jones to fire into the net.
“The hard work this team put in during the preseason definitely paid dividends tonight,” said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. “We got a great effort out of freshmen like Rachel Shelnutt and Katya Gokhman who proved they were ready to make an immediate impact. Briana da Mota was also
solid in goal.”
Furman (1-0-0) held a commanding 14-2 edge in shots in did not allow the Chanticleers (0-3-0) to piece together a serious threat on goal over the final 45 minutes. Dam Mota notched two saves to claim the victory while Amy Haggard made three stops for Coastal Carolina.
In game one of the tournament, Canisius exploded for four first half goals on its way to a 5-1 victory over Wofford (0-2-1). Sylvia Kowalski tallied two goals, including the game winner in the fourth minute, to boost the Golden Griffin attack. Kelly Reinwald added a goal and two assists as Canisius improved to 1-0-0.
The Select Kickoff Classic continues Sunday with Furman hosting Canisius at noon and Wofford battling Coastal Carolina at 2:30 p.m.
