Furman, ETSU Settle For 1-1 Draw
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Johnson City, Tenn. – Furman and East Tennessee State played to a 1-1 draw in Southern Conference men’s soccer action Saturday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. With the deadlock, ETSU moved to 5-5-4 on the year and maintained its lead in the SoCon regular season title race with a 3-0-1 league mark. Furman, 7-3-3 overall, fell into a second-place tie with UNCG at 2-1-1 in the conference.
The Paladins gained the upper hand in the first half on freshman Wilfer Bustamante’s goal in the 26th minute. Lloyd Wamu Snell delivered a throw in that was won by Slade Starnes and flicked on to Bustamante for the finish. The Bucs rallied in the second half when Gabriel Ramos found the back of the net off a Louie Salkeld assist at the 57:09 mark. Both teams had chances late in the game. Furman attempted five shots over the final 32 minutes but could not challenge ETSU goalkeeper Marc Kouadio. The Bucs put two late shots on goal only to be denied by Furman’s Aaron Salinas. Furman finished the match with a 17-5 advantage in total shots and 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Salinas recorded three saves while Kouadio stopped four shots for ETSU.
The SoCon regular season title and seeding for the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship will be decided on the final matchday of the regular season next Saturday. Furman hosts Mercer in the annual Quinn Game while ETSU visits UNCG, and Wofford takes on VMI. ETSU can clinch the title and No. 1 seed with a win or tie in Greensboro, N.C. The Spartans can take the regular season championship and No. 1 seed with a win over the Bucs. The Paladins can earn a share of the crown with a victory over Mercer and ETSU loss, but could not earn the No. 1 seed.
Courtesy furmanpaladins.com Jordan Caskey
