JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Second-seeded Furman and No. 3 seed Mercer played to a scoreless draw in Friday’s second Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship semifinal, with the Paladins earning a 3-2 win in the penalty-kick phase to advance to Sunday’s championship match against No. 4 seed and tournament host ETSU at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
Sunday’s title match will take place at 1 p.m. and will air live on ESPN3. Pete Yanity will have the call, with Charlie Slagle serving as analyst.
The Bucs knocked off No. 1 seed UNCG in penalty kicks in Friday’s first contest, as both semifinal matches went to PKs for the first time in the tournament’s 28-year history.
Defending tournament champion Furman (7-5-5) needed to take just four kicks to advance, as Mercer’s Jordan Duru was wide left on the Bears’ must-make fifth attempt, clinching the match for the Paladins.
After Ian Antley missed high on the Bears’ first attempt, Furman’s Adrian McInnis buried his shot to the left side.
Drew Schall answered with a make of his own to the right side to knot the score at 1, and Furman’s Eli Pinner was wide right as the score remained 1-1. Furman keeper Sven Lissek saved Kobe Perez’s attempt with a dive to his left, and the Paladins regained control when Tony Santibanez put his shot away to the lower left corner for the 2-1 lead.
Mercer’s Max Poore drew the Bears (11-6-3) even again with his make to the same spot, but Marco Carrizales made it a 3-2 Furman advantage with his score right down the middle, putting the pressure on Duru.
The match was the third this season between the squads to go to double overtime. Furman claimed a 1-0 win on Oct. 6 and the sides played to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 31 to close the regular season.
The penalty-kick showdown followed 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. Furman outshot 9-2 in regulation before the Bears had three shots to the Paladins’ two in extras.
One of the most promising plays of the match came in the first overtime, as Furman earned a free kick with a minute and a half remaining. Carrizales lofted a free kick into the box and Mercer keeper Jeremy Booth came out to try to punch it away over a crowd in front of the goal. The scrum left several Mercer defenders on the ground and an open net, but Furman couldn’t put the ball on frame and the match headed to a second extra frame still scoreless.
Furman’s Lissek earned his 27th career shutout despite not having to make a save on the night, moving into a tie for second place in SoCon history with Furman’s Scott Blount (1997-01).
Mercer’s Booth made three saves on the night, one each in the first half, second half and first overtime. Booth picked up his league-best eighth shutout of the season.
Furman will be playing its league-record 16th tournament final on Sunday and will be seeking its record 13th title. The Bucs, in their second year in the league, will be aiming for their first.
2015 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, Nov. 7
Campus sites (at higher seeds)
Match 1: No. 4 ETSU 5, No. 5 Wofford 0
Match 2: No. 3 Mercer 7, No. 6 VMI 0
Semifinals, Friday, Nov. 13
Johnson City, Tenn.
Match 3: No. 4 ETSU 1, No. 1 UNCG 1 (ETSU advances in PKs, 6-5)
Match 4: No. 2 Furman 0, No. 3 Mercer 0 (Furman advances in PKs, 3-2)
Championship, Sunday, Nov. 15
Johnson City, Tenn.
Match 5: No. 4 ETSU vs. No. 2 Furman, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
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