November 2, 2002
LEXINGTON, VA -- The tenth ranked Furman men's soccer team clinched its fifth straight Southern Conference regular season title with a 2-0 victory over VMI and set a Furman shutout streak record in the process.
The Paladins extended their consecutive shutout streak to six matches, which sets a new Furman record topping the record of five set in 1983 and 1991. Furman has now not allowed a goal in 598 minutes, which tops the previous mark of 565 minutes set in 1991. The last time Furman allowed a goal was in the first half of a match at St. Louis on October 5.
Furman's SoCon title is its 17th since 1983 and its 12th in the last 13 years. Furman now owns a 40 match Southern Conference unbeaten streak which dates back to the start of the 1999 season.
Anthony Esquivel scored his second straight game-winner as he put the Paladins on top 1-0 early in the first half. Esquivel took a pass from Sergei Raad at the 12:32 mark and finished to give Furman the lead.
Furman senior Clint Hill extended the Paladins lead to 2-0 as he scored at the 23:07 mark. Furman's Clint Dempsey and Drew Moor performed a give-and-go before Moor dished to Hill for the goal.
"It is always good to get a road conference victory," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "We will be the top seed in the SoCon Tournament, which is one of our goals, so I am pleased with that as well."
The Paladins improve to 14-2-1 on the season and 7-0 in the Southern Conference. Furman will conclude its regular season with a home contest against Davidson on Sunday, November 10. Furman will open the Southern Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed on Thursday, November 14 at 4:30 p.m. in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., against an opponent to be determined later.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman -- 9; VMI -- 8.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 1; VMI -- 4.
Saves: Furman -- 4; VMI -- 0.
Fouls: Furman -- 12; VMI -- 19.