October 3, 2003
GREENVILLE - The Furman men's soccer team will put its NCAA record 44-match conference unbeaten streak on the line Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. against it's SoCon arch-rival UNCG in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Paladins and Spartans will square off for the 12th time since UNCG joined the Southern Conference in 1997. Furman owns a 9-2 record against UNCG in that time span, including seven straight wins since 1999. Furman's seven wins against UNCG since its current 44-match unbeaten streak started is the most against any conference foe.
That record can be misleading, though, as the Furman-UNCG men's soccer rivalry is one of the most intense rivalries in college soccer. The rivalry dates back to NCAA play-in match losses by Furman to the Spartans in 1994 and 1996, while UNCG was a member of the Big South. The 1996 loss especially hurt as the second ranked Spartans whipped 16th ranked Furman 7-1 to keep Furman out of the NCAA Tournament, despite the Paladins high national ranking. UNCG then joined the conference a year later, further spurning the annual rivalry.
For two seasons, Furman and UNCG split matches, with one team winning in the regular season and the other claiming the tournament title. The Spartans defeated the Paladins 1-0 in the 1998 SoCon Championship match, which marks the last time Furman lost a Southern Conference match.
The always intense rivalry was taken to a new level last season. The 2002 regular season contest, played in Greenville, was one of the best all-around matches in the series' history. An Anthony Esquivel goal in overtime vaulted Furman to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over UNCG. Then in the SoCon Tournament semifinals, played in a driving rain storm, tempers heated up throughout the match before Furman was declared the 3-0 winner as the match and eventually the tournament was cancelled with 16 minutes remaining due to unplayable field conditions in Charleston, S.C.
Furman and UNCG have met in the SoCon Tournament five of the last six seasons.
"It is always a very exciting and physical match when we face UNCG," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "I expect this Saturday night to be no different."
Furman is off to an unusually slow start, with a 2-5-2 record overall and a 0-0-1 league mark. The Paladins do bring some momentum to the match as they are coming off a 4-3 win over Air Force on Sunday. UNCG enters the match with a 4-2-1 record and a 1-0-1 SoCon mark. The Spartans have an impressive 3-1 victory over Virginia Commonwealth to their credit this season.
"We haven't started out this season the way we hoped," added Allison. "But one of our goals every year is to win the Southern Conference and we can still accomplish that goal. That goal starts right now with this match."
Furman-UNCG Series (Since 1997)
| October 22, 1997 | UNCG 1, Furman 0 | Greensboro, N.C. | |
| November 9, 1997 | Furman 3, UNCG 1 | Greenville, S.C. | SoCon Championship |
| September 16, 1998 | Furman 4, UNCG 3 | Greenville, S.C. | |
| November 8, 1998 | UNCG 1, Furman 0 | Davidson, N.C. | SoCon Championship |
| October 17, 1999 | Furman 3, UNCG 1 | Greensboro, N.C. | |
| November 7, 1999 | Furman 3, UNCG 2 | Charleston, S.C. | SoCon Championship |
| September 12, 2000 | Furman 3, UNCG 1 | Greenville, S.C. | |
| November 10, 2001 | Furman 3, UNCG 1 | Greensboro, N.C. | |
| November 18, 2001 | Furman 2, UNCG 1 | Charleston, S.C. | SoCon Championship |
| September 21, 2002 | Furman 4, UNCG 3 | Greenville, S.C. | |
| November 16, 2002 | Furman 3, UNCG 0 | Charleston, S.C. | SoCon Semifinals |
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note: Furman leads the overall series 9-4. UNCG was
2-0 against Furman prior to 1997.
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