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Lady Paladins Hold Off East Carolina For Road Victory, 3-2
Sept. 21, 2005
Greenville, N.C. - Furman raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead and withstood a late rally by East Carolina to down the Pirates 3-2 in non-conference women's soccer action Wednesday afternoon before a crowd of 103 in Greenville, N.C.
"This was a very emotional win for our team," said Furman head coach Andrew Burr, following the victory. "We came out strong in the first half and did an excellent job of finishing our chances. I felt like we showed a lot of character in the second half by staying organized on defense and holding on to the lead against a motivated team."
Midfielder Katharine Kelley started the first half fireworks for the Lady Paladins in the 26th minute. East Carolina goalkeeper Heather Johnston denied a shot from Andre'a Morrison, but Kelley pounced on the rebound to net her first goal of 2005 and give Furman a 1-0 lead.
Morrison finished a chance of her own less than seven minutes later. The Kernersville, N.C., native took a pass from Katie Tucker on a breakaway and slotted a shot into the lower lefthand corner past the ECU keeper for her league-leading seventh goal of the season.
Sophomore Gena Villari capped the Lady Paladins' scoring at the 36:05 mark with the eventual game winning goal. Villari rocketed a shot into the upper righthand corner from almost 25 yards out for her first goal of the season to up the Lady Paladin advantage to 3-0. Nicky Darling and Katie Tucker were credited with assists on the score.
The Pirates kept the verdict in doubt with two goals early in the second period. Patty Pierce finished a Meghan McCallion cross with a header past Lady Paladin keeper Andie Hinshaw at 51:51 to pull a goal back. McCallion netted a goal exactly two minutes later when she beat Hinshaw one-on-one for her sixth goal of the year, but the Lady Paladin defense held the Pirates a bay for the final 36:09 to collect the victory.
East Carolina held a 14-11 edge in shots attempted while Furman enjoyed a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. Hinshaw notched eight saves to pick up the win in net for the Lady Paladins. Johnston tallied three saves, but allowed three goals in just over 38 minutes of work to absorb the loss for the Pirates.
With its third consecutive win, Furman improves to 5-4-0 on the season while East Carolina slips to 3-6-0.
Furman continues its three-match road swing Sunday afternoon when it faces The Citadel in the Southern Conference opener in Charleston, S.C. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
