BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The second-seeded Furman Paladins won their seventh Southern Conference Championship and first since 2015 with a 2-1 win over top-seeded Samford in double-overtime on Friday afternoon at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. Sophomore forward Jasmine Greene netted the game-winner in the 110^th minute to propel the Paladins past the Bulldogs in a rematch of the 2019 SoCon Championship in which Samford won 1-0.
 
The double-overtime final was the first since 2015 when the top-seeded Paladins downed No. 4 Mercer, 1-0.
 
Samford came out firing to begin the game and outshot Furman 3-1 in the first 10 minutes of play. The Bulldogs continued to attack offensively in the half and were outshooting the Paladins 9-3 before Furman’s Julia Nicholas scored her first goal of the season in the 43^rd minute off a pass from Faith Hauberg, giving Furman a 1-0 lead. Hauberg sent the ball into the box from a free kick at midfield, and after deflecting off the foot of a Samford defender, Nicholas, a sophomore forward, collected the ball and put it past Samford goalkeeper Morgan McAslan. Less than two minutes later, Samford’s Ella Simpson, a senior defender, evened the score at one, netting a header off a pass from Morgan Greene. The 1-1 score held for the final minute of the half.
 
Both teams kept their foot on the gas out of the half, staying aggressive in the physical contest. However, neither team was able to find the back of the net, leading to a scoreless second half and forcing overtime.
 
In the 94^th minute, Samford’s Taylor Yount got off a shot but Furman goalkeeper Addison Corn corralled it. The shot by Yount was the only of the first overtime. In the second overtime period, Yount quickly got off another shot, but Corn saved it to maintain the tie. A shot by Samford’s Nikki Barrio sailed wide left in the 108^th minute and less than 30 seconds later Jasmine Greene fired off one of her own that sailed right of the goal. Greene got another chance in the final minute of the period when she collected the ball, spun past her defender and fired off a shot from the top of the six-foot box. McAslan made the save, but the ball richoted back to Greene who fired a low shot to the left of McAslan and scored the game-winner, 17 seconds before penalty kicks would have decided the outcome. The Bulldogs hadn’t allowed more than one goal against any opponent this season.  
 
Corn, a freshman, played a magnificent game in goal and totaled 12 saves, while McAslan, a first-team all-conference goalkeeper, finished with five.
 
Remarkably, Samford outshot Furman 25-11.
 
The Paladins (8-0-2), who earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, will find out where they play next during the NCAA Selection show, which airs on NCAA.com on Monday, April 19, at 1 p.m. ET.

SoCon Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Kyndal Anderson, Furman
Jasmine Greene, Furman
Ellie Laxer, Furman
Angela Steidl, Furman
Nicole Icen, Mercer
Payton Schurr, Mercer
Shelby Hash, Chattanooga
MacKenzie Smith, Chattanooga
Kylie Gazza, Samford
Kyla Reynolds, Samford
Jennifer Seward, Samford
 
Most Outstanding Player 
Jasmine Greene, Furman
 
Pinnacle Award (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Isabella Gutierrez, Furman

2020-21 Women's Soccer Championship

Semifinals
Friday, April 9 (Birmingham, Ala.)
Match 1: No. 1 Samford 6, No. 4 Mercer 1

Sunday, April 11 (Greenville, S.C.)
Match 2: No. 2 Furman 1, No. 3 Chattanooga 0

Final
Friday, April 16 (Birmingham, Ala.)
Match 3: No. 2 Furman 2, No. 1 Samford 1 (2OT)