GREENSBORO, N.C. – Emily Turgeon and Andrea Morrison each scored two goals to lead Furman past UNCG, 5-2, in Southern Conference women's soccer action from UNCG Soccer Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans (6-10-1, 3-5-1 SoCon) played with the Paladins for much of the contest, but Furman (11-5-1, 9-0-0 SoCon) capitalized on a couple of UNCG mistakes. The Paladins struck just 1:13 into the match when charging UNCG goalkeeper Jennifer Stillman mishandled the ball. Turgeon buried it into an open net for her 13th goal of the season. Furman struck just seven minutes later when Turgeon found Morrison alone in the box. Morrison calmly slotted it past Stillman for a two-goal Furman advantage.
“Furman is far too good a team for us to start like that,” said head coach Eddie Radwanski. “We found ourselves down two goals early on, but credit to our girls, they kept playing.”
Despite the poor start, UNCG battled back and cut the deficit to a single goal at 32:45. Amy Carnell (Fr./Lake Stevens, WA) headed home her eighth goal of the season off a corner kick. Rakel Logad?ttir (So./ Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) registered her 12th assist of the season.
Furman netted two goals in a critical 10-minute span in the second-half to put the game away. Morrison added her second goal of the afternoon as she knocked in the deflection of her own shot from point blank range at the 54:32. Turgeon then scored her second goal of the day as she knocked in another Morrison cross at the 63:51 mark.
“We just got lost there in the early part of the second-half,” said Radwanksi. “But, Furman is a tremendous side and they took full advantage."
Danielle Petro closed out the Furman scoring with a goal at the 82:13 mark. The substitute beat three Spartan defenders and scored from 15 yards out.
The Spartans did add another goal just 59-seconds from the final whistle. Carnell tallied her second goal of the game, ninth of the season, on an assist from Cara Hammond (Fr./Howell, NJ).
With the victory, Furman locks up the 2002 SoCon Regular Season Championship and top seed for the upcoming SoCon Tournament.
UNCG must now focus its attention on its match with the Davidson Wildcats. With just a match to play, the Spartans are in a tie for seventh place with Chattanooga. The Lady Mocs also close their regular season this Wednesday with Western Carolina. ETSU (3-6-1) is just one-game out, but dropped its season final Sunday afternoon at College of Charleston, 2-0.
With a win over Davidson, the Spartans could finish as high as fifth. UNCG could back its way into the tournament, but a victory would ensure a spot in the SoCon Tournament. Kick-off for the match Wednesday is 7 p.m. at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
- UNCG -
