Nov. 10, 2007

Box Score

Greenville, S.C. - Jordan Howard and Shea Salinas both netted second half goals and Bryan Amos notched his eighth shutout of the season as 23rd-ranked Furman downed Wofford 2-0 in Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinal round action Saturday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.

The Paladins improved to 16-3-0 on the season and advanced to face the winner of Sunday's Elon/Appalachian State match in the SoCon semifinals November 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. Wofford concluded its season at 7-12-1.

"I'm proud of our guys for getting the job done tonight," said Furman coach Doug Allison. "Wofford was a scrappy team who has been playing really well of late and it was good for us to get the win and advance."

The breaks looked to be going Wofford's way in the early going. Furman's Brooks Duff was taken down in the box to earn a penalty kick, but Howard's effort slammed into the crossbar in the 31st minute to keep the game scoreless.

The Paladins finally broke through shortly after intermission. Patrick Murray drew the attention of three defenders in the middle of the box and sent a pass back out top to Howard. The sophomore ran onto the bouncing ball and hammered a dipping shot into the righthand side for his first goal of the season at 52:55.

In the 89th minute, Murray added his 12th assist of the season and helped up Furman's lead to 2-0 on a goal from Salinas. With Wofford pressing forward the ball bounced out to Murray who dribbled 60 yards before playing a pass to Salinas for the uncontested tap-in.

Amos notched one save to record the clean sheet while the Terriers' Joey Taylor stopped two shots. Furman held a 9-6 edge in shot attempts. Wofford attempted three corner kicks and the Paladins attempted two. The physical match featured just 26 total fouls, but seven yellow cards.