December 1, 2002
PALO ALTO, CALIF. -- Stanford's Chad Marshall headed in a Todd Dunivant corner kick to give Stanford a 2-1 double overtime victory over Furman in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The loss ends a difficult and emotional season for the Paladins, who finish the season 19-3-1, the second best record in school history.
After struggling to get into the flow of the match in the first 30 minutes, Furman took a 1-0 lead as Clint Dempsey scored at the 35:27 mark. The play was set up as Matt Foxhall dished the ball to Sergei Raad, who took the ball to the right endline where he crossed the ball to Dempsey, who headed in the goal.
Furman held that 1-0 for the next 41 minutes before giving up its first goal in 12 matches when Stanford's Mike Wilson drilled a shot in from 20 yards out off an assist from Todd Dunivant. The goal snapped Furman's NCAA record 11 match shutout streak and stopped its shutout streak at 1,129 minutes.
Neither team was able to score in the remaining 13 minutes of regulation or the first ten minute overtime period. Stanford's game winner by Marshall came with only 3:22 remaining until penalty kicks.
Furman goalkeeper Alex Maslow made 12 saves on the match, including spectacular saves on shots by Darren Fernandez (6th minute) and Roger Levesque (50th minute and 102nd minute).
"I have to credit Stanford," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "They are a very good team and are well coached. We soaked up a lot of pressure early, but then responded with a nice goal and settled down a good bit. Ultimately, we just ended up soaking up too much pressure in the end."
"It is tough to play three NCAA Tournament games in eight days," added Allison. "But I am proud of our kids and especially these seniors. They have been through a lot this season, but have persevered through everything that has been dealt to them. We played this season for Gray Griffin and this team came together for that cause. These guys learned some great lessons. These kids became men this season."
"It has been a long journey for us this season," added Furman senior Anthony Esquivel. "When I look back at this season, though, I will remember a lot more than this last match."
Stanford improves to 15-4-2 on the year and will take on Clemson in the NCAA quarterfinals. Furman finishes 19-3-1 on the year. The Paladins set two different NCAA Division I record this season as it extended its SoCon unbeaten streak to 43 matches and it went 11 matches without allowing a goal.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman -- 9; Stanford -- 23.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 2; Stanford -- 13.
Saves: Furman -- 12; Stanford -- 3.
Fouls: Furman -- 17; Stanford -- 15.