November 8, 1997
GREENVILLE, SC -- The fifth ranked South Carolina men's soccer team downed Furman 2-1 Wednesday night at Eugene Stone Stadium behind two first half goals.
The Paladins, who had allowed only three first half goals and had never trailed at half-time before tonight, found themselves down 2-0 at intermission. With just over 12 minutes remaining in the match Furman's Stephen Rodriguez scored to bring the Paladins to within one goal of the Gamecocks, but was unable to connect late to tie the match.
South Carolina scored first at the 28:51 mark as Josh Wolff scored off a Nathan Watkins pass. Marc Anatol then scored what turned out to be the game-winner off a Ryan O'Neill pass at the 39:01 mark in the first half.
South Carolina controlled much of the match, with the exception of a late Paladin rally, and outshot Furman 17-8.
"This was a tough loss," said Furman head coach Doug Allison "South Carolina is a big rival for us. Now we have to turn our complete attention to the play-in match this Sunday and the NCAA tournament."
With the win, South Carolina improves to 15-2-1 and claims their ninth consecutive victory. Furman drops to 14-5 and snaps a 20-match home winning streak that had dated back to early 1996. The Paladins will host Big South champion Charleston Southern this Sunday at 2 p.m. at Eugene Stone Stadium in an NCAA play-in match. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Scoring:
Shots On Goal: Furman - 8; South Carolina - 17.
Corner Kicks: Furman - 3; South Carolina - 12.
Saves: Furman - 3; South Carolina - 1.
Fouls: Furman - 21; South Carolina - 16.