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| Furman men's soccer coach Doug Allison hoists the Southern Conference championship trophy as the Paladins celebrate. Photo courtesy of Furman |
Fresh off winning the Southern Conference Tournament title for the 16th time in school history, the Furman men's soccer team will host Western Michigan in round two of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 1 p.m. at Stone Stadium.
This marks the 13th NCAA Tournament bid for the Paladins, but this is the first time they ever received an opening-round bye. Furman earned that following a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over 19th-ranked UNC Greensboro in the SoCon final last Sunday at Stone Stadium. Ryan Reid's goal off a rebound in the 107th minute gave Paladins back-to-back SoCon championships.
"Every one (SoCon championship) becomes a better one. I'm just so happy for these kids to win it on our own field," Furman coach Doug Allison said after last Sunday's win. "The atmosphere was amazing. Having that many students in this venue means a lot to me, and we were supported by an amazing number of student-athletes from other teams. The amount of fans and those students yelling really lifted us in the second half."
The day after that raucous celebration, the Paladins got to celebrate again when they were announced as the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament giving them the first-round bye. It's the second consecutive year that Furman, which has been to the tournament five times in the last 13 years, has reached the second round. Last season, the Paladins eliminated 16th-ranked North Carolina on penalty kicks in the opening round before falling to eventual national runner-up Marshall in round two.
Furman (14-1-4) enters the tournament with the nation's longest winning streak at eight consecutive matches. The Paladins are ranked No. 2 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and 14th in the NCAA RPI.
After entering the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed, Western Michigan (8-9-4) won it to earn its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos denied local soccer fans the chance to see Furman host Clemson in futbol the day after Clemson hosted Furman in football with a 1-0 win over the Tigers at historic Riggs Field on Thursday night. Western Michigan goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth had an outstanding performance as he recorded five saves for his third shutout this season.
Sunday's second round winner will advance to face either No. 1-seeded Vermont, the reigning national champion, or Hofstra.
Recapping the SoCon championship
While Furman was going to be in the tournament win or lose in the SoCon final, they very likely would not have received a bye without the championship win. And what a win it was. And what a perfect way for Allison, the all-time winningest coach in SoCon history, to go out in his SoCon finale. Allison will be retiring following this season, his 31st as coach of the Paladins.
Sunday's championship saw two great teams play their guts out. Scoring chances were few and far between in the defensive slugfest. Goalkeepers Ivan Horvat of Furman and Seth Wilson of the Spartans had one save apiece in the first half before facing no shots on goal in the second half or first 10-minute overtime session.
The most dangerous scoring chance of regulation came at the 72:18 mark when UNCG's Arnaud Tattevin had a strike that bounced off the crossbar. In the first overtime, Tattevin had another close call as he shot sailed just to the left of the left post.
With less than four minutes remaining in the second overtime of sudden death, a potential for having a championship decided by penalty kicks was looming. Furman's Connor Stout played a long ball into the center of the box that Wilfer Bustamante headed towards the left side of goal. Wilson made a great, diving stop, but couldn't catch the ball or deflect it very far. Reid, a redshirt freshman who missed all of last season with a broken collarbone, swept the rebound into the open side of the net with a left-footed shot as Furman erupted in celebration.
"That ball just came out and I was just like, 'I've got to put this away.' I put it away and now we're celebrating," Reid said afterwards. "Overcoming my injury from last year and scoring the game-winning goal in the final, it just means the world to me."
Following the celebration, the All-Tournament team was announced and the championship trophy was presented to Allison and his team. Diego Hernandez, who was named SoCon Player of the Year after leading the league in assists (eight) and scoring (24 points in 17 regular season games), added Tournament MVP to his trophy case.
Hernandez was happy for Reid, who he could sympathize with last season. Hernandez missed all of his freshman season in 2023 due to an ACL knee injury. He saw action as a reserve in 17 games last season before flourishing as a starter this year.
"I'm so proud of this group of guys. This is a brotherhood and they push me to be better every single day," Hernandez said. "This game came down to a moment and we were able to capitalize on it, but it was incredible quality from both sides.
"Ryan's a really resilient play. He sniffs out the game really well so when we need a goal, we know we can count on him. Last year was a really hard year for him and I think he's a perfect example of what this program is about. You have guys stepping up through the support of their teammates."
Speaking of guys stepping up, Reid wasn't the only redshirt freshman who came up big Sunday and all season as Horvat earned SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Horvat had his number called because of an injury that sidelined Aaron Salinas, who was one of the best goalkeepers in the country last season, all year.
"Aaron had a great season last year and I'm glad I was able to continue in his footsteps," Horvat said. "There were never any worries. We do it in training and any one of us can step up and do the job.
"I'm glad to make it back-to-back (SoCon titles), but the job ain't finished. We're ready for a deep run at the tournament."
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