Furman Set For SoCon Championship Match Sunday Afternoon At ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (SESN) — The Furman men’s soccer team goes in search of its 15^th Southern Conference title and 12^th NCAA Tournament berth on Sunday when the fourth-seeded Paladins face No. 2 seed ETSU in the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship Final in Johnson City, Tenn.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Summers-Taylor Stadium on the ETSU campus and admission is free. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and links for the live stream and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com. The winner secures the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Furman Paladins vs. East Tennessee Bucs
Summers-Taylor Stadium – Johnson City, Tennessee
Sunday, November 17th, 2024 – 2:00 p.m. ET 

Furman (8-3-5) earned its spot in the finals last weekend by downing No. 5 seed Mercer, 2-0, in the opening round before advancing past top-seed UNC Greensboro in a penalty shootout in last Sunday’s semifinals in Greensboro, N.C. ETSU edged Wofford in a penalty shootout in Johnson City last Sunday to reach the championship match.

The Paladins hold a 12-4-7 lead in 23 previous meetings versus the Bucs but haven’t defeated ETSU since a 2-1 decision during the 2021 season. The Bucs and Paladins played to a 1-1 draw in their regular season meeting in Johnson City on October 26. Furman is 2-0 versus ETSU in postseason play with both victories coming at Summers-Taylor Stadium, first in the 2015 championship match and then the 2018 semifinals. The last two SoCon titles for Furman (2015 & 2018) have come at Summers-Taylor Stadium. Last season, Mercer topped Furman, 2-0, in the finals at Stone Stadium in Greenville.

Senior Christian Kraus, junior Lloyd Wamu Snell, and freshman Wilfer Bustamante lead the Paladins with five goals apiece this season. Sophomore Aaron Salinas, who was named SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year last week, has recorded four clean sheets while compiling a 0.99 goals against average. He made two saves in the penalty shootout versus UNCG, which Furman won 6-5 in seven rounds.

Furman’s last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2018 when it scored a 3-0 shutout of UNCG in the SoCon finals in Johnson City to secure the postseason berth. The Paladins advanced past UNC Wilmington in the opening round of the tournament before falling to nationally-ranked Virginia in the round of 32.

This season’s 48-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday, November 18, at 1 p.m. on NCAA Sports.com. The tournament is slated to get underway on Thursday, November 21.

2024 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 8 
Campus sites
Match 1: No. 4 Furman 2, No. 5 Mercer 0 (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 2: No. 3 Wofford 3, No. 6 VMI 0 (Johnson City, Tenn.)

Championship Semifinals, Sunday, Nov. 10
Campus sites (at higher seeds)
Match 3: No. 4 Furman 1, No. 1 UNCG 1 (FU advances on PKs, 6-5) (Greensboro, N.C.)
Match 4: No. 3 Wofford 1, No. 2 ETSU 1 (ETSU advances on PKs, 5-3) (Johnson City, Tenn.)

Finals, Sunday, Nov. 17
Johnson City, Tenn.
Match 5: No. 4 Furman at No. 2 ETSU, 2 p.m.

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