Furman Edges UTC, 1-0, in SoCon Soccer

Sunday, September 27, 2015
B.B. Branton

Furman’s Abby Demare scored on a header in the 63 rd minute as the visiting Paladins defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 1-0, in a Southern Conference women’s soccer match Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.

DeMare’s winning goal came after UTC freshman goalie Molli Martin knocked away a shot by Staphanie DeVita; one of eight saves on the day by Martin in her second collegiate start.

In a well-played defensive match, Furman (8-4-0, 1-1-0) led in shots on goal (9-5) and corner kicks (5-4), but the Mocs (2-7-2, 0-1-1) used an aggressive defensive stategy to keep the Paladins off the scoreboard until DeMare’s header.

The Mocs best scoring opportunity came in the 78th minute off a corner followed by a header in the box which was cleared away from the goal.

UTC also had a scoring chance in the 53rd minute as Peyton McCollum chased down the ball in the box, but a Furman defender was able to clear the ball.

Furman goalie Maggie Grisell (five saves) made an excellent stop on a McCollum shot from 15 yards out in the 36th minute.

“We were ultra-organized today on defense, Molli was great in goal, you can’t fault our effort and it was the bounce of the ball for Furman today,” said UTC coach Gavin McKinney

“We have to be happy with the effort, I am proud of the way our players performed and we are so committed (to winning) as a group.”

Coach McKinney also pointed out the defensive effort by freshman Masey Fox.

“Masey did an excellent job defending Stephanie DeVIta (zero goals, 1 assist, 3 shots on goal) who is two-time conference player of the year.”

Note: DeVita leads the SoCon in goals (7), points (17) and match-winning goals (3)

Next Match: UTC at Mercer (Oct.2)

Next Home Matches: UNCG and VMI Friday-Sunday Oct 9-11

Furman 1, UTC 0

Goals: Furman, 1-0

Assists: Furman, 1-0

Shots: Furman 18-14

Shots By Half: Furman 5-13 – 18 … UTC 7-7 -- 14

Shots on Goal: Furman, 9-5