October 15, 2000
COLUMBIA, SC -- For the second straight season, Furman and South Carolina battled to a 1-1 tie Sunday afternoon in a match-up of two nationally ranked men's soccer teams.
In the match's most controversial play, John Barry Nusum's apparent game-winning header off a McNeil Cronin corner kick with 6:53 remaining in the second overtime period was called back because of an obstruction call on Matt Goldsmith.
"He told me that Goldy (Matt Goldsmith) just stood in front of their keeper," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "He said that he didn't move and he didn't raise his hands, he just stood there. If that is a foul then there should be a foul on every corner kick."
The call was signaled after the entire Furman bench had cleared the bench in celebration.
The 14th ranked Paladins jumped out in front of the 10th ranked Gamecocks late in the first half as Anthony Esquivel scored off an assist from Carl Junot. Furman dominated play during the first half and much of the second until South Carolina's Jordan Quinn scored off a Jon Rich cross. After tying the score 1-1, USC increased its intensity and put the pressure on the Paladins for the remainder of regulation.
Neither team had any strong scoring opportunities through the first overtime period until Nusum's would-be game-winner. Furman defender McNeil Cronin made a back save with 11 seconds remaining in the final overtime period on a Dave Moore shot to preserve the tie.
"This was a great soccer match between two good teams," said Furman head coach Doug Allison, who played and coached at South Carolina. "It would have been nice to come away with a win and I felt we should have. But this was a great South Region battle between two teams that deserve to go to the NCAA Tournament."
Furman outshot South Carolina 16-12 on the afternoon.
Furman moves to 11-2-1 on the season, while South Carolina is now 8-2-3. The Gamecocks have now tied arch-rivals Clemson and Furman in successive Sunday's as they tied Clemson last week.
Furman returns to Southern Confernece action this week with a match at Georgia Southern on Wednesday and then at home on Saturday night against Davidson.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman -- 16; USC -- 12.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 10; USC -- 10.
Saves: Furman -- 6; USC -- 10.
Fouls: Furman -- 19; USC -- 25.