November 2, 2002
GREENVILLE -- Junior Emily Turgeon scored with less than five minutes remaining in the second half to propel Furman to 1-0 victory over 25th ranked Michigan State on Saturday night at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium.
The game-winner was set up as sophomore Alice Martin sent a through ball to Turgeon down the right side of the field. Turgeon beat Spartan keeper Stacy Heller to the ball and one-touched it into the goal from 20 yards out at the 85:28 mark for the victory.
The match was a back and forth struggle throughout the contest with each team having limited opportunities to score. Furman totalled eight shots on the match, while Michigan State attempted six shots, two of which came in the match's final four minutes.
"This was a great win over a Top 25 team," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "I am very pleased with how we are playing right now heading into the conference tournament. We need to keep up this kind of intensity next weekend. This was a great win for our program."
Furman is now 2-0 lifetime vs. the Big Ten as the Lady Paladins defeated Iowa at the end of the 1999 regular season by an identical 1-0 score. The Hawkeyes were ranked 23rd at the time.
Furman improves to 13-5-1 overall, while Michigan State falls to 12-5-2 overall. Furman has now won eight straight matches and returns to action on Thursday against ETSU at 5:00 in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Michigan State will open in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman -- 8; MSU -- 6.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 0; MSU -- 6.
Saves: Furman -- 2; MSU -- 3.
Fouls: Furman -- 13; MSU -- 16.