Eagles Retain SoCon Lead, Fall 3-1 at No. 26 Furman
10/5/2011 2:13:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern's first road test of the conference season finished with a 3-1 loss at No. 26 Furman as the Eagles retained first place in the Southern Conference. The Eagles were out-shot by the Paladins, 17-8, to fall to 6-4-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the league. Furman improves to 9-2-2 overall and 1-1-0 in the SoCon.
"We are disappointed not just with the result, but we felt like we came out flat and put ourselves in hole that we couldn't dig out of," said Head Coach Kevin Kennedy. "I felt like we came out good in the second half and got a goal, but it was a little too late. We are going to come back from this and regroup for our next league match on Friday against Wofford."
The Eagles suffered a setback in the 29th minute as Furman scored the first goal of the night. The Paladins netted the set piece goal on a header by Coleton Henning off assists by Walker Zimmerman and Martin Ontiveros.
Furman went 2-0 up just seven minutes later off Nikolai Hammer's second goal of the season. The freshman forward dribbled down the right side of the Eagle flank and scored by beating the keeper to the left side.
Georgia Southern was outshot 11-3 in the match's opening period. Goalkeeper Ryan Platt (Preston, England) made five of his nine overall saves in the first half.
The Eagles cut the Furman advantage to one goal just two minutes from time with Witt Carlisle's (Alpharetta, Ga.) sixth goal of the season. Carlisle scored by putting away a loose ball in the box which resulted from a free kick by Drew Ruggles (Manassas, Va.).
Furman, however, ended Georgia Southern's rally with 35 seconds remaining with a breakaway counterattack off a Georgia Southern corner kick. Ontiveros scored the empty net goal, his second of the night, to give the Paladins the 3-1 victory.
Despite the loss, Georgia Southern remains on top of the Southern Conference with six points from three matches. Appalachian State, UNCG, College of Charleston, Elon and Furman trail the Eagles by three points.
Georgia Southern returns to the friendly confines of Eagle Field on Friday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tilt against Wofford. The match is Georgia Southern's penultimate home match and opens a doubleheader which concludes with a women's match at 4 p.m.
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