Excitement fills the air as students return to campus and the fall sports season is set to kick off.
As usual the women’s soccer team, picked as preseason Southern Conference favorites, was set to start the sporting year with a home game the first evening after freshmen arrived on campus. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had her own plans, sending a mid-summer thunderstorm through campus right before kickoff, rendering the field unusable.
The match between the Paladins and Presbyterian has yet to be rescheduled.
The team was then forced to turn their attention to Sunday night’s match up at Clemson. Clemson, who managed to fire a total of 25 shots, were only able to find the goal one time, scoring on a rebound in the 55th minute. However, this was enough to stave off the Paladins, who were unable to find the back of the net.
The team returns Upstate native and 2012 Southern Conference Player and Freshman of the Year Stephanie DeVita. DeVita led freshmen nationwide and all of the Southern Conference with 19 goals last year.
Unfortunately not even she could beat Clemson’s goalkeeper and will have to try her luck in Athens next Sunday when the Paladins take on the Georgia Bulldogs.
The men’s soccer team enters this season with high expectations after falling short of the national tournament last year. The team lost a number of experienced seniors, as well as standout defender Walker Zimmerman, who has taken his talents to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.
However, Coach Doug Allison has restocked this team with yet another strong recruiting class. According to CollegeSoccerNews.com, this recruiting class is the tenth strongest in the nation, behind soccer powerhouses such as North Carolina, Indiana, and UCLA. Expectations are high for these freshmen, who will hopefully be able to step right into the lineup and make an impact.
The men’s season doesn’t begin until the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic next weekend at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C., where the Paladins will play Xavier before taking on 2010 national champion Akron.
In preparation for these early season challenges, Furman played an exhibition game against number 17 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Aug. 24. The game started fast-paced, with five goals scored in the first 34 minutes. Play settled down from there as both teams were unable to score again, and Wake emerged victorious, 3-2.
Furman’s goals were scored by senior midfielder Michael Gandier and highly touted freshman striker Bobby Edet. The men’s team opens their home schedule Sept. 7 against College of Charleston, who are in their first year in the Colonial Athletic Association.
