November 27, 2002
RICHMOND, VA -- Alex Maslow made two saves in the penalty kick shootout and Ricardo Clark scored Furman's fourth penalty kick as Furman advances past Virginia Comonwealth in penalty kicks 4-2. The match ended in a 0-0 tie. Furman advances to face the winner of Stanford-Portland in the third round on Sunday at 1:00. The location of the match will be announced on Thursday.
Furman's Maslow set the tone in the shootout with a save on the first shot by VCU's Matt Pauls. Furman's Anthony Esquivel put Furman on top 1-0 with his shot. The two teams traded goals with the second and third kickers as VCU's Matthew Dellicate and Petrut Bumbanac and Furman's Drew Moor and Clint Dempsey all scored their chances.
Maslow then saved Jose Umana's shot to give Ricardo Clark the chance to win the match. Clark, a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team scored his goal to give Furman the win.
With the shutout, Furman sets an NCAA Division I record with 11 straight shutouts. The previous record of ten was held by Wisconsin-GB (1992), Virginia (1987), and SMU (1980). Furman has now gone 1,052 minutes without allowing a goal. The last goal Furman allowed was in the first half of a match on October 5 against St. Louis.
Both teams had several opportunities to score in the 110 minute match, but each came up short.
Virginia Commonwealth put the pressure on the Paladins in the first half as it outshot Furman 11-2. Alex Maslow helped keep Furman in the match with five first half saves, including diving saves on shots by Gonzolo Segares (7th minute) and Carlos Garay (29th minute). Maslow also made a save on a point blank shot by Matthew Delicate in the 32nd minute.
Furman stepped up its play in the second half and the Paladins saw a golden opportunity slip away in the 59th minute. After flicking the ball over his head, Clint Dempsey's shot was saved by Rams goalkeeper Saul Montero. Wes Windsor attemped to knock in the deflection, but his shot hit the bottom of the cross bar bounced straight down before being cleared off the line by VCU defender Gonzolo Segares.
VCU's Montero made a spectacular save in the 82nd minute as he robbed Clint Dempsey of a goal after Dempsey ripped a 25-yard blast that appeared to be heading to the upper corner of the goal. Furman failed to capitalize again at the 85:57 mark when Sergei Raad's shot was saved off the line by VCU defender Cristian Neagu while Rams keeper Saul Montero was out of the goal.
VCU had the final opportunity of regulation as Randy Ugarte took a shot with three seconds remaining in regulation that was headed out by Furman defender McNeil Cronin.
VCU had two good scoring opportunities in the first overtime as Matthew Delicate attempt to finish a Randy Ugate cross sailed left and Gonzolo Seagraves' shot drilled the crossbar.
Furman missed an opportunity with three minutes remaining in the second overtime when Clint Dempsey's shot was blocked by the Rams defense after Dempsey received a cross fro Ricardo Clark, while VCU keeper Saul Montero was out of the goal.
Furman goalkeeper Alex Maslow finished the match with 11 saves.
The match was a physical one with 43 combined fouls and six yellow cards issued in the match.
Penalty Kick Shootout:
Furman wins penalty kick shootout 4-2.
Shots: Furman -- 13; VCU -- 28.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 6; VCU -- 6.
Saves: Furman -- 11; VCU -- 5.
Fouls: Furman --22; VCU -- 21.