Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's soccer team earned its first Southern Conference win of the season in swanky fashion with a 4-0 win over odefending Southern Conference Tournament Champion Furman (9-2-1) at home Sunday afternoon. The Spartans handed the Paladins their first SoCon loss of the season and first loss to a league opponent since September 25, 2015 and snapped a SoCon best 13-match Furman win streak.
The Spartans are the first Southern Conference squad to score four goals on the Paladins since former league member Elon in a 4-3 win October 13, 2013.
UNCG improves to 15-12-3 all-time against FU. Sunday's win over Furman marks the first for the Spartans since head coach Michael Coll took over the program in 2014.
Maddie Hoffmann (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) put the Spartans on the board in the 12th minute off a Melanie Spensiero (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) corner kick. Hoffmann's first career goal snapped a 524-minute scoreless streak for the Spartans.
UNCG held a 1-0 lead at halftime outshooting the Paladins 7-5 despite FU having a 4-2 advantage in corners.
Spensiero opened the floodgates for UNCG in the 49th minute with a header from seven yards out. It marked her team-leading fourth goal of the season while senior captain Georgia Brown (Queenstown, New Zealand/St. Hilda's Collegiate) dished her first assist of the season.
Diarra Simmons (Toronto, Ontario/Dayton) notched her second goal of 2016 in the 70th minute for a 3-0 UNCG lead. After just missing a Cienna Rideout (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) pass, Simmons found the back of the net when Rebekah McFadden (Tampa, Fla./Plant) shoved the ball back at Simmons, who then toed it past Furman's goalkeeper Rose Hull.
Five minutes later it was Simmons again for the Spartans. UNCG had numbers against Hull, who charged at the Blue & Gold offense but Simmons fired a shot just right of the Paladins goalkeeper for the fourth and final goal.
UNCG outshot Furman 13-12 in the win while Chloe Buehler (Perrysburg, Ohio/Penn State) made five stops in goal. Jamie Phelps (Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll) made her second appearance in goal this season, recording one save in five minutes of action.
Furman, who led the nation in scoring offense heading into Sunday's match and was atop the Southern Conference standings, falls to 3-1 in SoCon play. The Paladins also ranked second nationally in total goals, tied for second in shutout percentage, third in points per game, 11th in win-loss-tie percentage and 25th in goals against average, prior to Sunday's UNCG win. It marked just the second time all season Furman had been shutout.
The Spartans hit the road for four-straight SoCon matches before returning home for Homecoming Weekend October 21-23.
The UNCG women's soccer alumni weekend is set for October 21-23 during Homecoming Weekend. To register for Alumni Weekend contact Spartan Club Assistant Director Rachael Farlow at rkfarlow@uncg.edu or 336-334-5156. The deadline to RSVP is October 17.
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