November 10, 2002
GREENSBORO,
NC -- Emily Turgeon's 16th goal of the season at the 13:09 mark proved to be
all the scoring the Lady Paladins would need as they blanked College of Charleston
3-0. With the win, Furman claims the 2002 Southern Conference Women's Soccer
Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Furman opened the scoring at the 13:09 mark as Turgeon netted her 16th goal of the season. Andre'a Morrison passed to Turgeon in the middle of the field. Turgeon then beat her defender and shot the ball past College of Charleston goalkeeper Alice Keeney to the far post.
Furman extended its lead as Stacy Simpson scored her secong goal of the season at the 31:43 mark. Simpson won a loose ball in the penalty area, turned on her defender, and buried a shot from 12 yards out.
Morrison tallied her third goal of the weekend at the 79:56 mark. Morrison beat a defender and had a breakaway against the new Cougar goalkeeper Emily Brenner. Morrison's shot was saved by Brenner, but Morrison tapped the rebound into the empty net for her eighth goal of the season.
Andre'a Morrison was named the Tournament MVP, scoring three goals and recording two assists in Furman's three matches. Alice Martin, Tara Marker, Erin Sanders, and April Raymer were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
"I am very proud of our team for playing so well for our three matches this weekend," said head coach Brian Lee. "Winning three straight times over the course of one weekend is no small task. We have a lot of depth and having so many quality players really helps out a lot. I thought that the girls played with a lot of heart, and we are looking forward to playing next week in the NCAA Tournament."
Furman's
only other Southern Conference Tournament Championship was during the 1999 season.
Ironically, the Lady Paladins captured the championship on the same field as
the 2002 tournament, UNCG Soccer Stadium. Furman won the 1999 championship in
a four overtime thriller against Davidson. Inlcuding this year's tournament,
Furman has now won nine straight times at the UNCG Soccer Stadium and sport
a 9-1 overall record on the field, with its only loss coming in 1997 against
UNCG.
Furman has now won eleven straight matches, tying the school's longest winning streak set in the 1999 season. Over those eleven matches, Furman has outscored its opponents 33-4.
The Lady Paladins have played spectacular this season against conference opponents. Counting the regular season and the conference tournament, Furman has outscored SoCon opponents 45-5, and have registered nine shutouts in 13 total matches.
With the win, Furman improves to 16-5-1, College of Charleston falls to 9-9-3. The Lady Paladins will find out their NCAA Tournament opponent on Monday at 4:30 on the NCAA Selection Show televised on ESPNews.
Scoring Summary:
Shots: Furman -- 15; CofC -- 5
Saves: Furman -- 4; CofC -- 5
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 9; CofC -- 0
Fouls: Furman -- 14; CofC -- 3
Tournament MVP:
All-Tournament Team: