The women’s soccer team had wowed the Furman community and the NCAA with their 7-0 record through Sept. 23. Unfortunately, the College of Charleston came out in full force last Sunday to stop Furman in their tracks.
After a scoreless first half, Maryam Buazza of the Cougars broke through the top right corner, beat the defender, and sunk the ball for a goal in the eighty-eighth minute.
However, the Paladins did attempt to tie the score with a crossbar shot from India Robinson and shots fired by freshman Stephanie DeVita that kept keeper Eli Sarasota on her toes.
The College of Charleston had the upper hand on the ‘Dins, outshooting them 14-11. Furman definitely had more opportunities for staged shots with five corner kicks compared to CofC’s three corner kicks.
Still, the girls could not find the back of the net during the game. Sarasota did an impressive job of holding back the Paladins.
Despite the break in the winning streak, the team should be proud of their season so far.
On the defensive side, goalkeeper Rose Hull, ranked sixth nationally. In a total of 491 minutes of play, Hull has only let two balls get past her.
But the Paladins are not letting the loss against the Cougars bring them down.
They started back up with a 2-2 draw against Samford in Birmingham, AL. The first half ended with a 1-0 lead for Samford. The second half began with the same dismal ambience as Samford scored again. Less than ten minutes later, Texan sophomore Hannah Stanifer received a corner kick from Robinson and pounded it into the net.
In the last minute of the game, DeVita came through for the Paladins and nailed a shot in from a cross by Catie Moore in the eighty-ninth minute, tying the game 2-2. Furman also outperformed Samford in shots, shots on goal and corner kicks.
A week later, the Furman Paladins lined up against Chattanooga at home Sunday at 2 p.m. Chattanooga’s season record so far is 2-6-1 and 0-3-0 for the Southern conference.
In a mere 23 minute span starting in the second half, Furman managed to find the back of the net five times against the Chattanooga Mocs, with a final score of 5-1.
Hannah Stanifer started the the team off with a goal in the first half at the forty-first minute. Caitlin Shelton, DeVita and Dee Makris all followed suit, and the team managed to get a total of 49 shots on goal before the night was over.
The women’s soccer team is now 9-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 for the Southern Conference.
The Lady Paladins get a break from traveling as they play at home in Stone Stadium against rival UNC Greensboro on Oct. 5. The game is set to start at 7 p.m.