Furman 1, Vermont 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Tyler Peoples netted a first-half goal and Sven Lissek notched Furman’s third straight shutout as the Paladins blanked the previously unbeaten Vermont Catamounts, 1-0, Sunday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.
The victory improved head coach Doug Allison’s squad to 4-1-0 on the season, while the Catamounts slipped to 4-1-2.
Furman controlled possession throughout the opening 45 minutes and built a 9-2 lead in shot attempts in the first half. The breakthrough for Furman came in the 39th minute, when senior Michael Gandier lined a shot through traffic that Catamount goalkeeper Conor Leland deflected into the path of Peoples. The Conyers, Ga., native finished his chance into an empty net for his first goal of the season and the lone score of the afternoon.
The Paladins threatened to double the lead in the opening minutes of the second half after Evan De Ycaza won the ball in the attacking third and Clint Ritter found Bobby Edet with a cross from the right, but the forward’s header banged off the near post for a goal kick.
Vermont, who was forced to settle for chances on the counterattack for most of the first half, began to gain possession before the hour mark. In the 60th minute, Vermont’s Daniel Kuczynski fired a shot from the left side of the box toward the far post that was bound for goal before a Furman defender cleared the ball. The Catamounts’ best chance of the period came with under 10 minutes to play, when Shane Haley found space on the right side of the box for a low, hard shot that Lissek smothered.
Furman finished with a 13-8 edge in shots and 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Lissek picked up his fourth win in net with two saves. Leland stopped five shots in a losing effort for the Catamounts.
The Paladins hit the road on Friday to face Atlantic Sun Conference member East Tennessee State at 7 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn. Furman returns home to host Gardner-Webb on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
Mercer 1, Georgia Southern 0
MACON, Ga. – A late goal from Ehjayson Henry slipped the Mercer Bears past the Georgia Southern Eagles in the finale of the Mercer Tournament on Sunday night, 1-0.
The Eagles (2-4) nearly forced overtime after playing down a man for most of the second half before Henry wrangled control of the ball from a Georgia Southern defender in the 87th minute. He lifted a shot into the upper left corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season and the game-winner.
After giving up the goal, the Eagles offense went on the attack and tried to find the equalizer. Witt Carlisle put a shot on goal in the 88th minute, but the Bears' defense deflected the shot. Just seconds later, Hunter Norton corralled the rebound and put a second shot on goal, but this time Greg Ranjitsingh made the stop in net to preserve the win.
Mercer (2-4) outshot the Eagles 23-8 in the game and 14-5 in the second half. The Bears also put pressure on the GSU defense with a 13 corner kicks. Goalie Neal Bates kept Mercer off the board for most of the match and made a season-high 11 saves in the cage on Sunday night. He has allowed one goal or fewer now in his last four matches.
Henry was one of three members of Brad Ruzzo's Mercer squad with four shots on the day. Two other Bears also tallied three shots. Jeremy Rector was the only Eagle to post multiple shots and finished with two.
Kevin Kennedy's men's soccer squad will be back in action next weekend in Asheville, N.C. The Eagles will face Radford on Friday and UNC Asheville on Sunday.