Furman-WoffordGame Notes
November 4, 1999
THE GAME
The Lady Paladins enter the Southern Conference tournament winners of nine straight matches. Furman is fresh off a 1-0 upset victory over #23 Iowa on Friday at home to close the regular season. While Furman's 18-2 record may be enough to earn the Lady Paladins an at-large bid to the 48-team NCAA Tournament, the Lady Paladins do not want their fate in the hands of the NCAA committee. Furman will play Wofford on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Southern Conference semifinals. The Southern Conference championship match is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m.
THE SERIES
Furman has won the last two meetings between the Paladins and the Terriers, each by a score of 3-2. The all-time series is tied a 3-3, though Furman owns a 2-1 advantage since Wofford joined the Southern Conference in 1997. The road team has won five of six meetings between the two schools. This will be the first neutral site match in the series.
In Greenville: Wofford leads 3-1
In Spartanburg: Furman leads 2-0
THE COACHES
Furman: Brian Lee (Furman '93)
64-49-6 (.563), 6th Year at Furman/Overall
Lee vs. Wofford (3-3)
Wofford: Amy Burns
13-8 (.619), 1st Year at Wofford/Overall
Burns vs. Furman (0-1)
FURMAN-WOFFORD LAST MEETING
FURMAN 3, WOFFORD 2
The Lady Paladins rebounded from the USC match to defeat Wofford 3-2. It wasn't easy though, as Furman went to overtime for the third time in a row and the fifth time this season. Wofford jumped off to an early first half lead, but Furman came on strong in the start of the second half to take a 2-1 lead. Wofford later tied the match to force overtime. In overtime, the Furman attacked hard as the ball never crossed midfield. After six minutes of overtime, Melissa Turner scored her second goal of the match and her second overtime game-winner of the season.
NOTING THE PALADINS
SEMIFINALS...Furman advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season with a 4-0 win over Western Carolina on Tuesday. Furman has a 2-2 all-time record in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. This is the first meeting between Furman and Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament.
FIRST TOP 25 UPSET...Furman claimed its first-ever victory over a top 25 program as the Lady Paladins topped Iowa 1-0 to close the regular season. Iowa was ranked 23rd in the Soccer Buzz poll and finished third in the Big Ten this season. Iowa's trip South was not entirely bad, as the Hawkeyes' turned around and thumped Southern Conference foe Wofford 6-1 two days after falling to Furman.
LONGEST WINNING STREAK...Furman has now won nine matches in a row, the longest winning streak in school history. The Lady Paladins last loss was a 4-3 overtime loss to South Carolina in Columbia. Furman has now won 14 of its last 15 matches as they had won six in a row prior to the South Carolina loss. The current nine match winning streak started with Furman's 3-2 overtime victory over Wofford.
BEST SEASON EVER...The 1999 season has been without a doubt the best season in school history. Coach Brian Lee started the Furman program from scratch in 1994 and actually claimed the Southern Conference regular season title in his second year. The women's soccer program did not claim its first winning season until 1997 and has been on fire since. After a 12-6-2 season in '97 and a 13-8 record last year, Furman has produced a 18-2 record this season. Furman's winning percentage ranks in the nation's top five.
THE RECORDS KEEP FALLING...The Lady Paladins broke or tied 12 records a year ago and continue to shatter the record books this season. As a team, Furman has broken school records for wins (17), goals (58), assists (81), wins on the road (7), wins at home (7) fewest losses (2), and shutouts (10). Individually, Melissa Turner holds the Furman single season goal record with 13 this season. Kaye Brownlee entered the season as the holder of the Furman single season points record and set a new mark as she topped her freshman performance. Brownlee has 37 points on 10 goals and 17 assists.
SPECIAL KAYE...After a stellar freshman campaign, Kaye Brownlee continues to dominate opponents as a sophomore. Brownlee is currently second in the nation in assists with 17 on the year after finishing second last season. After just two seasons, Brownlee is Furman's all-time leader in assists with 36, places fourth on Furman's career goals chart with 18, and is third in points with 72.
GO-TO TURNER...Melissa Turner has turned into Furman's clutch scorer as she has scored three overtime game-winners and set the Furman single season goals record with 13 goals this season. In addition, Turner was selected to the all-tournament team at all four tournaments that Furman played in. She was a two-time Southern Conference player-of-the-week and became the first women's soccer player to earn Soccer America Team-of-the-Week honors.
GOLDEN GOAL/SUDDEN DEATH...Furman has experienced both sides of overtime this season as the Lady Paladins have posted a 5-2 record in overtime matches. Furman's only two losses came in overtime, but they have also enjoyed tremendous success in the extra period. Three of those five wins have come in the first few minutes of overtime. Along with Turner's three game-winners, Nicole Malseed and Sarah Tollick have saved the day with game-winners.
SECOND HALF SUCCESS...Furman has been a great second half team this season as they have allowed only four second half goals all year. Furman has outscored its opponents 35-4 in the second half this season. In matches that the Lady Paladins have been behind or tied at the half, Furman is 10-1.
SURGING FAST...It took redshirt freshman Lindsey Facciolo a little while to get back into game shape after missing her freshman season due to a foot injury, but she has certainly come on strong recently. She has now scored a goal in five of the last six matches, including game-winners in three of those matches. She has scored six goals in the last six matches. She scored the lone goal in Furman's 1-0 win over Iowa and earned Southern Conference player-of-the-week honors for her performance.
CENTURY CLUB...Furman senior Melissa Sutton became the first women's soccer play at Furman to break the 100-point barrier when she scored in Furman's first round SoCon win over Western Carolina. Sutton, Furman's all-time leading scorer, has 35 goals and 32 assists for 102 points in her career. The only other soccer players to eclipse the century mark are men's players Andrew Burr (119 points, current women's soccer assistant coach), Scott Broderick, and Jeff Jones.
STEADY PLAYMAKER...Though 5-2 Sarah Tollick may go unnoticed by some outsiders, she has quietly had an incredible season. Tollick has scored seven goals and recorded 11 assists. She has three game-winners, including one in overtime. Tollick has recorded a goal or an assist in 14 of Furman's 20 matches.
SOCON DOMINATION...Furman cruised to a perfect 9-0 league record mark this season and outscored SoCon opponents 33-5 this season. Furman needed overtime three times though. Furman shutout six of nine opponents and went to overtime with every team that scored on them. Counting the first round of the tournament, Furman has outscored SoCon opponents 37-5.
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!...While Furman is 12th in the nation in scoring, the Paladin defense has also made a big difference. Led by marking backs Bridgett Giles and Lauren Killey along with goalkeepers Melissa Barnes and Jessi Anucinski, the Furman defense has allowed only 15 goals and recorded 11 shutouts on the season. Goalkeeper Melissa Barnes ranks 14th in the nation in goals against average.
IN THE NATIONAL STATS..Furman appears in the NCAA Division I national statistics a number of times as the Lady Paladins' have the 12th most potent offense in the nation with a 3.1 goals per match average. Furman ranks 15th in team defense and 15th in shutouts per match. The Lady Paladins' winning percentage ranks fifth in the nation. Individually, Brownlee is second in assists, while Katie Carson and Sarah Tollick are 19th in assists. Melissa Barnes places 14th in goals against average.
TAKING DOWN THE BIG BOYS...The Furman women's soccer team is not the only giant-killers on the Furman campus. The men's soccer team defeated Clemson 3-2 in overtime and the football team destroyed North Carolina 28-3 during the same week that women's soccer defeated Iowa.
ELITE PROGRAMS..The combined records of the Furman men's and women's soccer programs is 33-3-1, the best combined record in the nation. The Furman women's team is 18-2 and also seeking the Southern Conference Tournament championship this weekend. Santa Clara holds the next best winning record, with a combined 30-3-1 mark.
TRIPLE TITLE...For the first time in school history, three fall sports are in sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference standings. While the men's and women's soccer teams have already won the SoCon title, the Furman football team is 5-0 and will face Georgia Southern this weekend in a big match with conference title implications.