SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s men’s soccer claimed the No. 1 seed for the 2020-21 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship and its 21st Southern Conference regular-season title after defeating Belmont 3-0 Tuesday night. The Paladins finished 5-0-1 in conference play after a scoreless draw with Wofford on Thursday, April 1, to conclude SoCon action undefeated.  
 
Furman (7-1-1, 5-0-1 SoCon) is led on offense by Jake Raine and Shaun-Chris Joash, who both tallied five goals and one assist for 11 points each, and on defense by goalkeeper Ben Hale, who averaged 7.60 saves per game and posted a 0.73 goals against average. The Paladins are set to face No. 4 seed Belmont in the SoCon semifinals on Friday, April 9, in Greenville, South Carolina, at 6 p.m. ET.
 
Belmont went 6-2-2 overall and 3-2-1 in SoCon action after defeating Mercer 1-0 on Saturday, which secured the team’s spot for the 2021 championship. The Bruins fell short to Furman in the lone head-to-head matchup of the season but have a chance for redemption in the semifinal round. Freshman AJ Chastonay leads Belmont with nine points on four goals and an assist on the season, while goalkeepers Drew Romig (18) and Cameron Petty (11) are among the conference’s top 10 in saves.
 
UNCG claimed the No. 2 seed after ending conference play on Saturday with a scoreless draw with ETSU, who earned the No. 3 seed. The Spartans went 7-2-2 overall (3-1-2 SoCon) and boast three players who have scored five or more goals this season, including Theo Collomb, who leads the league with six goals. The Spartans will host the Bucs in the tournament semifinals for a rematch of the season finale on Saturday, April 10, at 6 p.m. ET. 
 
ETSU ended the regular season at 3-4-3 overall and 3-1-2 in SoCon play. Forward Jared Leheta leads the Bucs with 10 points on five goals and has averaged one point per game through 10 games. In goal, Josh Perryman ranks second in the conference with 37 saves and a 0.81 goals against average. 
 
The championship match will take place Friday, April 16, or Saturday, April 17, and will take place at the highest remaining seed.
 
The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.
 
2020-21 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Friday, April 9 or Saturday, April 10
Semifinals (at No. 1 and No. 2 seeds)
Match 1: No. 1 Furman vs. No. 4 Belmont, Friday, April 9, 6 p.m. ET
Match 2: No. 2 UNCG vs. No. 3 ETSU, Saturday, April 10, 6 p.m. ET

Friday, April 16 or Saturday, April 17
Final (at highest remaining seed)
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, Time TBD