October 17, 2001

SHORTHANDED CLEMSON STUNS FURMAN IN MEN'S SOCCER IN DOUBLE OT

GREENVILLE -- The 15th ranked Furman men's soccer team was defeated 3-2 in double overtime Wednesday night at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium by the 11th ranked Clemson Tigers in front of 2,811 spectators.

Playing with only nine players since the 87:18 mark in the second half, Clemson's Steven Rhyne collected a ball near midfield and outraced the Furman defense before drilling a shot past Furman keeper Scott Blount at the 111:40 mark.

After an electric first half in which both Furman and Clemson scored twice, Clemson's Eric Lewis received his second yellow card of the match at the 59:15 mark of the second half. Clemson played down a man for the next 29 minutes until Kevin Conaway was cited with a red card with 2:42 remaining in regulation to bring Clemson to nine players.

Furman controlled the overtimes, but was unable to find the back of the net, while Clemson seemed to be content to escape with a tie until Rhyne's heroics.

"We should have taken care of business today," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "We have got to win these games, especially with an advantage like that. We just didn¹t do a good job of finding the free men on the attack. Clemson fought hard today. We must regroup and focus on the rest of the season."

A total of 74 fouls were whistled in the match as Clemson committed 42 fouls to Furman¹s 32. The Paladins outshot the Tigers 17-10 on the match.

Clemson opened the scoring in the first half as Paul Souders knocked in a shot at the 11:28 mark after collecting a cleared ball. Furman's Patrick Tanner evened the count eight minutes later as he scissor kicked a ball in after receiving a Jack Handy cross.

The Tigers regained the lead at the 29:08 mark as Souders added his second goal of the night off an assist from Ian Fuller as his sliding shot from 20 yards outt found the back of the net. Furman's Anthony Esquivel evened the score for Furman at the 34:01 mark as he collected a loose ball in front of the net and shot it into an open goal.

Furman falls to 9-3 on the season, while Clemson improves to 9-3. The Paladins entered the match ranked 15th in the nation, while Clemson was 11th. Furman will return to action Friday night at 8:00 p.m. against conference foe VMI, while Clemson will host Davidson Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Scoring:

• CU - Paul Souders (unassisted) 11:28
• FU - Patrick Tanner (Jack Handy assist) 19:32
• CU - Paul Souders (Ian Fuller assist) 29:08
• FU - Anthony Esquivel (unassisted) 34:01
• CU - Steven Rhyne (unassisted) 111:40

Shots: Furman-- 17; Clemson -- 10.

Corner Kicks: Furman-- 4; Clemson -- 4.

Saves: Furman-- 5; Clemson -- 8.

Fouls: Furman-- 32; Clemson -- 42.