November 6, 2003
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Furman women's soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the 2003 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship with a 2-1 victory over Western Carolina on Thursday at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Furman took the lead midway through the first half when Danielle Petro knocked in a loose ball after her first shot was blocked. The Lady Paladins held the 1-0 lead through intermission.
Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year Andre'a Morrison extended Furman's lead to 2-0 at the 75:09 mark as she took a Katharine Kelley pass and shot from 15 yards out. Her shot was deflected by a Western Carolina defender into the net.
Western Carolina made things interesting as Lauren Bramlett's free kick found the back of the net at the 81:53 mark to pull the Catamounts to within 2-1.
"I commend Western Carolina and head coach Debbie Hensley," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "They came out and played hard and were a completely different team than they showed earlier this year in Greenville. But we got the win that we needed to advance and I look forward to another great contest tomorrow in the semifinals. We are going to have to play better the rest of this weekend, though, if we expect to win this title and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament."
The Lady Paladins improve to 14-4-2 on the year and will battle the Chattanooga on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Western Carolina concludes its season at 7-11-2. Furman beat Western Carolina 6-1 earlier this season in Greenville.
Furman extends its overall unbeaten streak to 13 matches and its SoCon unbeaten streak to 25 matches.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman - 15; WCU - 9
Saves: Furman - 7; WCU - 3
Corner Kicks: Furman - 6; WCU - 2
Fouls: Furman - 9; WCU - 6