CHARLESTON, SC -- Junior midfielder Kaye Brownlee scored the game-winning goal six minutes into overtime to give top-seeded Furman a 2-1 win over No. 4 seeded Davidson in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament this afternoon in Charleston.
These two teams have been no strangers to close matches. In last season's conference tournament final, Furman defeated Davidson on a Kaye Brownlee goal in the fourth overtime period. When these two teams met in the regular season this year, freshman Emily Turgeon scored two goals in the final seven minutes, including the game-winnner with 28 seconds remaining to give the Lady Paladins a 2-1 victory over the Wildcats.
Despite several opportunities for both teams, Furman and Davidson battled to a scoreless tie after the first half of play. Davidson's best opportunity came on a free kick after a Furman foul just outside of the penalty box. The Lady Paladins failed to convert on eight first-half corner kick opportunities.
Davidson took a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes remaining in the match. The Wildcat's Alia Antonucci-Alter received a pass though the defense and placed a shot out of the reach of Furman goalkeeper Melissa Barnes.
Furman answered with just ten minutes remaining in regulation in the match when Kaye Brownlee knocked a ball back into the middle of the box. Then nation's leading scorer and Southern Conference Freshman- and Player-of-the-Year Emily Turgeon finally booted the loose ball into the back of the Davidson net to tie the score.
Early in the overtime period, Davidson had a great opportunity to win the match, but Furman's Melissa Barnes made a huge save on a one-on-one offensive attack. Just two minutes after that save, Kaye Brownlee collected a ball at midfield and dribbled her way through the Davidson defense to the top of the penalty box. Brownlee's shot beat Davidson goal-keeper Winnie Corrigan and made its way into the goal to end the match and give Furman a berth in their third consecutive Southern Conference final.
"Once again, a Furman-Davidson match provided for exciting soccer," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "The tournament always brings the best out of teams and I think that this was a great match. Now, we're where we want to be to win this tournament."
For the 13th ranked Lady Paladins, it was only thier second overtime match of the season, the first coming in Thursday's opening round of this tournament.. Furman improves to 20-1 overall on the season and earned its 23nd consecutive Southern Conference win dating back to the 1999 season. With the loss, Davidson finished the season 14-8. Furman will face the winner of the Western Carolina-UNCG match in the tournament finals on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Scoring:
Corner Kicks: FU - 14, DC - 10
Saves: FU - 1, DC - 8
Fouls: FU - 14, DC - 9