Furman men's soccer shoots for first Final Four

Diego Hernandez (10) hugs Luke Hutzell following Furman's win over Hofstra in the
third round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Photo courtesy of Furman

Following a couple of home wins in the NCAA Tournament, the Furman men's soccer team is on the circuitous portion of a postseason trip that it hopes will continue back in the Carolinas next weekend. It will be a battle of one-loss teams when the 16th-seeded Paladins (15-1-5) play at No. 8-seeded Portland (14-1-4) Friday at 10 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

The winner of Friday's match, which will be televised on ESPN+, will advance to the Men's College Cup at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The semifinals will be held next Friday, with the national championship scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15. All of the Final Four matches will be televised by ESPNU.

The Paladins made the trek to Oregon this week riding a 13-match unbeaten streak, the longest in the country. Furman is ranked No. 1 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 and No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Paladins lead the nation with 153 total points and rank seventh in scoring, averaging 2.33 goals per game. They are led by SoCon Player of the Year Diego Hernandez, a junior midfielder who has 10 goals and nine assists this season. On Friday, Hernandez was named as one of five finalists for Top Drawer Soccer's Player of the Year.

In Sunday's third round at Stone Stadium, it appeared that Hernandez had sealed Furman's advancement on a goal that gave the Paladins a 3-1 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. But Hofstra, which won at Syracuse in round one before stunning top-seeded Vermont in round two, didn't quit.  Just 19 seconds later, the Pride's Laurie Goddard - one of those other four Player of the Year candidates - found the net to cut the lead to 3-2. Just 68 seconds after that, Goddard's 15th goal of the season knotted the match at 3-3 to help force overtime.

After a pair of scoreless 10-minute overtime sessions, the match went to penalty kicks. Both teams made their first two attempts before Hofstra missed in round three. The Pride made their next two, but Furman made all of its attempts. In the fifth round, senior Landon Hill set off a massive celebration when his strike landed in the left corner of the net to end the match.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys," said Furman coach Doug Allison, who gladly got to postpone his retirement for at least one more week again. "They didn't panic when we fell behind and they showed tremendous resilience today. All five guys stepped up and converted their penalties just like we had practiced."

Hofstra took an early 1-0 lead on a goal in the 17th minute. It appeared that the Pride were going to make that lead hold all the way to halftime before Furman got on the board with just 36 seconds left in the first half. Luke Hutzell's goal off an assist from Hill sent the teams into halftime tied at 1-1.

The Paladins finally snapped the tie in the 77th minute when former JL Mann standout Wilfer Bustamante scored off an assist from Hutzell. Less than four minutes later, Bustamante assisted on Hernandez' goal that pushed the lead to two. Hutzell was selected to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week thanks to his efforts in the victory.

Despite it being a gloomy weather day on a holiday weekend, Allison thought the fan support was fantastic.

"Our students came back from Thanksgiving to support us in masses, and our fans and alumni were great. Even some of my old teammates from South Carolina were here," Allison said. "These (players) deserve it. They've worked their butts off out there and they're making history. I'm so excited for the program."

Friday will mark Furman's second Elite Eight appearance. The first came early on in Allison's 31-year coaching career when the Paladins reached the 1999 NCAA quarterfinals. That team defeated North Carolina, 2-1, and Wake Forest, 4-0, before falling at UConn, 3-2.

"Some of the guys that played on that team were here today," Allison said Sunday. "Hopefully they make the road trip to Portland."

This will be the second meeting between Furman and Portland. The Paladins defeated the Pilots, 2-0, at the Husky Fever Classic in Seattle in 2007. Portland, which is No. 3 in Top Drawer and ranked sixth in the coaches poll, reached the quarterfinals with a penalty kicks win over Denver in round two and a 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon last Friday.

While the Paladins would've undoubtedly loved another home match this weekend, they've made the most of their cross country trip. The team got a raucous sendoff when the team's bus departed campus for the airport Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, the team toured Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. After playing in chilly, rainy conditions on Sunday, Furman should be prepared for anything weather-wise. The forecast for Portland at match time is for 51 degrees, with gusty winds and no chance of rain.