October 12, 1999

FURMAN WOMEN'S SOCCER EDGES DAVIDSON 2-1 IN OT;

TAKES COMMANDING LEAD IN SOCON RACE

GREENVILLE, SC -- Melissa Turner's heroics led the Furman women's soccer team to a 2-1 overtime victory over Davidson in a matchup of the Southern Conference's only two unbeaten teams. With the win, Furman moves to 6-0 in the Southern Conference and takes a commanding lead in the SoCon regular season race.

Turner, who exited the match in the 57th minute with what appeared to be a serious leg injury, returned 11 minutes later and eventually scored her third overtime game-winner of the season. In the first minute of overtime, Turner received a pass from Lindsey Facciolo near midfield, crossed field and beat two Wildcat defenders, and then drilled a shot past Davidson keeper Winnie Corrigan.

Davidson took the early first half lead as Amy Johnson scored off a Ginny Dye, Heather Maloney double assist at the 26:37 mark. Despite being outshot 9-2 in the first half, Davidson finished the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Furman finally scored on it's 13th shot of the night as Nicole Malseed tapped in a Kaye Brownlee corner kick at the 71:52 mark to even the score. Neither team scored again in regulation, forcing Furman's sixth overtime match of the season.

Furman outshot Davidson 15-5 and controlled play for most of the night, but the Wildcat defense played exceptional keeping Furman out of the net for the first 70 minutes.

"I can't say enough about the play of Melissa Turner today," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "Regardless of what happens throughout most of the match, Melissa always steps up her play when it counts. To come back from an injury where she could barely walk off the field to score an great goal like that in overtime is incredible. Davidson is a very good team. They really made us earn a hard-fought win."

With the assist on Furman's first goal, Kaye Bronwlee, already Furman's all-time leader in assists, moved into third place on Furman's all-time points chart. She has 15 career goals and 31 career assists for 61 points. Brownlee, a sophomore, passes Liz Bielefeld who finished her career with 60 points.

The Lady Paladins improve to 12-2, 6-0 in the Southern Conference. Davidson falls to 8-5-1, 5-1 SoCon. Furman is ranked 8th in both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz Southeast Region polls.

Scoring:

DC - Amy Johnson (Ginny Dye, Heather Matheny assists) 26:37

FU - Nicole Malseed (Kaye Brownlee assist) 71:52

FU - Melissa Turner (Lindsey Facciolo, Bridgett Giles assists) 91:01

Shots: FU - 15, DC - 5

Corner Kicks: FU - 4, DC - 9

Saves: FU - 3, DC - 6

Fouls: FU -13, DC - 10