October 4, 2003
GREENSBORO, NC -- The Furman men's soccer team battled SoCon rival UNCG to a 1-1 tie Saturday night as a part of UNCG's Fall Fest in front of 1,733 spectators at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The tie extends Furman's NCAA Division I record conference unbeaten streak to 45 matches. Furman's last loss to a Southern Conference foe was to UNCG in 1998.
Furman took a 1-0 lead at the 38:00 mark when Mark Futrell's flicked header off a Josh Villalobos corner kick from the near post crossed the goalline before being struck by a Spartan defender.
UNCG knotted the score at 1-1 at the 72:19 mark. James Goodman sent a long ball ahead to Randi Patterson who slid and knocked it past an attacking Alex Maslow.
The match was played back and forth with each team having several chances, but Furman withstood a tremendous amount of pressure in the second overtime, but held off the Spartans. Furman keeper Alex Maslow made an incredible punch save on a shot by UNCG's Brad McCurry at the 101:09 mark to held keep the match even.
"This was one of our best efforts of the season," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "I was impressed by the way we faught and the intensity that we showed. UNCG is an excellent team and they showed that tonight."
Furman was without the services of U.S. Under-20 National Team member Clint Dempsey, who was forced to sit after receiving two yellow cards last Sunday against Air Force.
The tie ends a streak of seven straight wins by the Paladins against the Spartans. Furman is 9-2-1 against UNCG since 1997 when the Spartans joined the SoCon.
Furman moves to 2-5-3 on the season, 0-0-2 in league play, while UNCG is now 4-2-2, 2-0-2 in SoCon play. The Paladins return to action against Wofford Tuesday at 5:00 at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman -- 6; UNCG -- 13.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 5; UNCG -- 9.
Saves: Furman -- 5; UNCG -- 3.
Fouls: Furman -- 27; UNCG -- 28.