Furman 2, Winthrop 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Lewis Hawke and Marco Carrizales each netted a second-half goal to help Furman rally past Winthrop, 2-1, in the finale of the Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the match knotted at 1-1 and less than 12 minutes to play in regulation, Hawke played Kevin Pahl into space down the right wing. The senior centered a pass to Carrizales in the box and the junior ripped a shot inside the far left post at 78:39 for the eventual match-winning tally. It marked Carrizales’ first goal as a Paladin.
The victory improved Furman to 1-1-1 on the season, while the Eagles dipped to 1-3-0.
Winthrop grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the 23rd minute when Nil Vinyals’ corner kicks was headed back in front of goal and Jordi Lluch fired a header past Furman goalkeeper Sven Lissek for his third score of the season. The Eagles limited Furman to just one shot in the opening 45 minutes to carry the lead into intermission.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Furman served a long ball into the box that took a deflection off of a Winthrop defender’s arm, earning the Paladins a penalty kick. Pahl stepped up to the spot and fired a shot off of the right post, but Hawke pounced on the rebound and finished from close range to equalize for the Paladins.
Lissek totaled four saves to pick up his first win of the season for Furman. The Eagles’ Hector Fernandez stopped two shots in a losing effort.
Furman returns to action on Sept. 11, at College of Charleston. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Mercer 2, UCF 0
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Mercer University men's soccer team scored two goals in the first half and carried the lead through the second half to defeat UCF, 2-0, on Sunday evening.
Conner Antley gave Mercer an early 1-0 advantage after putting the ball in the left side of the net from a corner kick from Jordan Duru less than seven minutes into the match. Mercer's second goal also came off a corner kick, when Jourdan Gooden headed the ball just inside the far post following a corner from Kobe Perez. Mercer's 2-0 lead into halftime lasted the Bears for the final 45 minutes.
Jeremy Booth made seven saves on the night, his second-highest tally of the season. The shutout was also the first of the season for the netminder.
Mercer improves to 2-2 for the season, while Georgia State falls to 1-1.
Mercer heads to Orem, Utah, to face UNVL and Utah Valley State for the Holiday Inn Express Invitational. The Bears take on UNLV on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. and Utah Valley State on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m.