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| Trip Campbell celebrates his goal in Furman's 1-0 win over Western Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of Furman |
Sundays on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium have been pretty special for the Furman men's soccer team in November. After Thanksgiving this week, the Paladins hope to close out the month with one more special afternoon. Furman hosts Hofstra in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 1 p.m.
This will be the 16th-seeded Paladins' third appearance in the Sweet 16 and first since 2002. They got there thanks to another thrilling win last Sunday as Furman topped Western Michigan, 1-0, in a second round match before a large, boisterous crowd. That victory followed a 1-0 double overtime win against UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference Tournament championship the previous Sunday and a 4-2 win over Wofford in the SoCon semifinals the Sunday before that.
"I'm just so happy for the kids and the staff. We did a good job to earn it by winning the conference championship, but winning in the NCAAs is another level," said Furman coach Doug Allison, who was doused with a bucket of water by two former players in the post-match celebration. "The alumni here are just amazing. They want to come back and watch us. They've been texting me all week."
What has made Furman (15-1-4) so successful this season is that it is a true "team" in every sense of the word. On a roster that produced nine different All-Southern Conference performers this season, Sunday's hero was a sophomore who came off the bench to double his season goal scoring output. Trip Campbell entered the pitch in the 25th minute and missed a shot just a few minutes later.
He didn't miss his next try. With less than three minutes left in the first half, Campbell tallied his second goal of the season off outstanding assists from Diego Hernandez and Wilfer Bustamante. Grabbing a lead out of nowhere in a match that appeared to be on its way to a scoreless tie at the half was a huge boost for Furman. A Paladin defense made up of four freshmen and one sophomore made the one goal lead stand up as Western Michigan did not record a shot on goal in the second half. It was the seventh shutout this season for SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year, Ivan Horvat.
"Different guys come through at different times, so you don't know who to mark. And they all want each other to do well," Allison said. "Now we have the lead and they've got to come at you (in the second half) and that's a tough thing to do sometimes. That's a long time to hold the lead today, but we did it well by continuing to attack them."
The Broncos (8-10-4) recorded just one shot on goal for the game. Horvat tipped Mathieu Beuvain's effort over the bar less than 15 minutes into the match. Western Michigan goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth, who was tremendous in the Broncos' 1-0 win at Clemson in the first round last Thursday, had a pair of saves in the first 17 minutes Sunday.
The Paladins' next shot on goal resulted in the lone score. Furman didn't look very much like it was threatening when Bustamante had his back to the goal near the top of the box. But he suddenly found Diego Hernandez on a beautiful backheel kick to the left of the goal. Hernandez, the SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Tournament MVP, might have had a shot but instead made the second pass for a better one. At very close range, Campbell gently guided the ball straight into the middle of the net.
"It's an unbelievable feeling knowing you scored the winning goal to help the team cross the line," Campbell said. "Honestly, this entire team is just connected. Whenever we need somebody, we step up."
Following Furman's win, all attention turned to No. 1 seed Vermont where the Paladins would likely be headed this week. Hofstra held a 2-1 lead late on the road in the snow at the top seed before the Catamounts forced overtime thanks to a goal in the 84th minute. Undaunted, the Pride scored just over six minutes into sudden death to stun the reigning national champions and give Furman - and Allison - at least one more home match.
Vermont was far from the only highly-seeded team to be upset in its opening round of action. After falling in that classic SoCon final a week earlier, UNCG stunned No. 2 seed Virginia in a match decided by penalty kicks. No. 3 seed Princeton, No. 5 seed SMU, No. 6 seed Indiana and No. 9 seed San Diego were also eliminated.
With both Vermont's 29-match and Princeton's 16-match unbeaten streaks getting snapped, Furman now has the nation's longest unbeaten run as well as the longest winning streak. The Paladins have won nine consecutive matches and gone undefeated in 12 straight, as has Saint Louis. Furman is 11-0-1 in that stretch while Saint Louis is 8-0-4. That unbeaten streak began with Furman's 1-0 win over Charlotte on Sept. 22. Ironically, the lone goal that night was Campbell's other one this season.
If the Paladins can extend those streaks this Sunday it would send them to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time ever and first time since 1999.
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