November 7, 1998
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's Melissa Sutton broke open a scoreless tie less than four minutes into the second period of Saturday night's semifinal Southern Conference Tournament game to give Furman a 1-0 advantage over Georgia Southern. Two more Furman goals secured the Lady Paladins' 3-1 victory and a place in Sunday's 3 p.m. championship game against the Spartans of UNC Greensboro.
Sutton's goal, her eighth of the year, came off a Kaye Brownlee assist that extended to nine the number of consecutive Furman goals in which Brownlee recorded a goal or an assist. Less than five minutes after Sutton's goal, however, Brownlee's streak was broken when sophomore Sarah Tollick chipped a shot over the head of GSU goalkeeper Vanessa Bales for the only unassisted goal of the night. After more than 23 minutes of scoreless play, the Lady Paladins struck again when senior Leah Versteegen crossed a double assist from Sutton and Nicole Malseed into the back of the net at the 74:04 mark.
Just when it seemed Furman would claim its eighth shutout of the year, a sliding Tara Chaisson successfully dinked a shot over a diving Melissa Barnes, giving Georgia Southern its lone goal of the night.
"We are one step away from reaching the NCAA Tournament," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "That has been our goal all season and we have worked hard to reach it over the last three months. We just have to come out on Sunday and get the job done against a very talented UNC Greensboro team."
With the victory, Furman improved to 13-7 overall, marking a school record for victories, while Georgia Southern fell to 10-10. The Lady Paladins will face UNCG at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship at Eugene Stone Stadium. In addition to the tournament title, an automatic NCAA bid will be awarded to the winner.
Scoring:
Shots on Goal: FU - 21; GSU - 8.
Corner Kicks: FU - 8; GSU - 1.
Saves: FU - 4; GSU - 8 .
Fouls: FU - 8; GSU - 7.
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