MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Hakan Ilhan's third game-winning goal of the tournament lifted top seed UNCG to a 1-0 win over No. 2 seed Furman in the championship match of the 2010 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Championship at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
UNCG (12-5-4) advances to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship with the win, and the Spartans will learn their postseason draw during the selection show Monday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
"Our players have done it all," said UNCG head coach Justin Maullin, who became the first rookie head coach to guide his team to a title in the 22-year history of the event. "Defending wins championships, but you have to have special players to get goals and Hakan (Ilhan) showed it during the final three games."
"Our goal all along has been to win the regular season and tournament titles. We were picked sixth in the preseason so we used that as a motivation throughout the year."
Ilhan gathered the ball outside the top of the 18-yard box, composed himself and lofted a shot over the outstretched arms of the retreating Alec Kann. The tally at the 80:28 mark was one of just two shots on goal for UNCG during the match, and it marked Ilhan's 12th tally of the season.
The SoCon's leading goal scorer, Ilhan netted all four UNCG goals during the tournament run, including the lone tallies in both the semifinal and championship matches.
"I'm very proud of our team," said UNCG senior Matt Strine, the tournament's most outstanding player. "We had 15 or 18 new players this season, and we have come a long way. The sky is the limit, and I feel that we can compete against anyone."
Furman's Caleb Suri pressed goalkeeper Peyton Ford in the 80th minute with a bouncing volley from the right side, but the Spartans' keeper was up to the challenge.
Ford notched two saves while keeping his sixth clean sheet of the season. Kann recorded one save for Furman.
UNCG, which claimed its fifth SoCon tournament title, enters the NCAA Tournament with an 11-match unbeaten streak (8-0-3) while Furman closes out its campaign at 10-7-4.
All-Tournament Team
Steven Sassano, Appalachian State
Lee Williams, Appalachian State
Alex Caskey, Davidson
Greg Macnamara, Davidson
Daniel Hojaij, Furman
Walker Jernigan, Furman
Nicky MacKain, Furman
Mahdi Ali, UNCG
Hakan Ilhan, UNCG
Aaron Reifschneider, UNCG
Matt Strine, UNCG
Tournament Most Outstanding Player - Matt Strine, UNCG