November 7, 1998
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The 13th-ranked Paladins advanced to the Championship Game of the 1998 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament after surviving Appalachian State 3-2 in semifinal action on Saturday at Davidson College.
The Mountaineers struck first as junior Will Phipps (Greensboro, N.C.) headed in a cross from Jordy Broder (Dunwoody, Ga.) 24 minutes into the match. Furman evened the score to 1-1 at halftime as senior Paul Leese (Chester, England) headed in a cross from Jack Handy (Lilburn, Ga.) just four minutes later.
The teams remained knotted early in the second half, until Furman netted a pair of back-to-back goals in just over one minute. Sophomore Shaun Stone (Sandy, Utah) came off of the bench to spark the Paladins with their second goal, belting in a Matt Goldsmith (Roswell, Ga.) pass off of a Daniel Alvarez (Fayetteville, N.C.) throw in. Senior Brent Rosser (Cincinnati, Ohio) stole a pass from Mountaineer goalkeeper Robert Black (Greensboro, N.C.) to give Furman a 3-1 advantage with 22 minutes in the match.
Appalachian State pulled within a goal just five minutes later on a long shot from the top right side by Chris Weddle (Winston-Salem, N.C.). The Mountaineers threatened late in the match with series of shots in the last minutes, including a direct kick with under a minute left that was stopped by Furman goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale (North Salem, N.Y.).
Furman improves to 16-3-2 overall, tying the school mark for wins in a season. Appalachian State ends the season 13-8 in SoCon Coach-of-the-Year T.J. Kostecky's first season.
SCORING SUMMARY
Shots: ASU 9, FUR 14
Saves: ASU 3 (Robert Black 3), FUR 5 (Ronnie Pascale 5)
Corner Kicks: ASU 3, FUR 4
Fouls: ASU 15, FUR 10
Back to the Furman Athletics Homepage