Furman Trounces Wake Forest 4-0

     Winston-Salem, N.C -- The Furman men's soccer team moved one match closer to an appearance at the Men's College Cup at Charlotte's Ericsson Stadium with a convincing 4-0 win over Wake Forest in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Spry Soccer Stadium on the campus of Wake Forest.

    Furman advances to the quarterfinals where the Paladins will meet fourth-seeded Connecticut.  The match will likely be at UConn as the Huskies are the higher seeded team.  The winner will advance to the Final Four in Charlotte to face either UAB or Santa Clara.

    Furman took it to the Deacons from the start as the Paladins won their second straight tournament match over an ACC team.  Furman took the 1-0 lead at the 1:50 mark in the first half as the Paladins scored on a set piece as they have done many times this season.  Paul Leese scored his first goal of the season as he knocked in a loose ball in the box off a corner kick.  Carl Junot and Daniel Alvarez each got touches on the ball before Leese put it in the back of the net.

    The Paladins wasted little time taking the 2-0 lead as Carl Junot knocked in a rebound of his own shot at the 6:03 mark.  Furman kept the 2-0 lead through halftime until Nusum put the match away with his team leading 16th goal of the season.  Jack Handy sent a ball down the left sideline where Daniel Alvarez crossed to Nusum for the goal.  Furman scored its final goal at the 69:48 mark as freshman John Michael Waite knocked in a rebound off a shot from roommate and high school teammate Clint Hill.

    "I am proud of each and every one of these guys," said Furman head coach Doug Allison.  "It is not easy to come to a place like Wake Forest and win and we were able to do that. To get a shutout at an ACC school is not easy. It was really important for us to put away our chance early and get that early lead.  Our defense took over from there."

    Furman improves its nation's best record to 21-1-1 on the year.  Furman owns the nation's longest winning streak as the Paladins have won 14 consecutive matches.  The Paladins are now 3-0 against the ACC this season and 5-1 over the last three seasons.  Furman's quarterfinal appearance is the farthest the Paladin soccer team has ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament and the farthest any Furman athletic team has advanced in straight Division I team tournament competition.  The Paladin football team won the 1988  Division I-AA National Championship, while the women's golf team finished second in the 1987 NCAA tournament.

    Wake Forest, the tournament's fifth seed, finishes the season 13-3-5.

    "The success we are having right now is a culmination of four years of hard work for this senior class," said Furman senior Daniel Alvarez.
 

Scoring:
FU - Paul Leese (Junot, Alvarez assists)    1:50
FU - Carl Junot (John Barry Nusum assist)    6:03
FU - John Barry Nusum (Alvarez, Handy assists)    52:25
FU - John Michael Waite (Hill assist)    69:48

Shots: FU - 12, WFU - 8
Saves: FU - 2, WFU - 3
Corner Kicks: FU - 7, WFU - 5
Fouls: FU - 16, WFU - 16