The 16-seeded Furman Paladins (15-1-5) men’s soccer team took down Hofstra University in penalty kicks in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament. The game was tied 3-3 after regulation and two overtime periods.
Hofstra advanced to the quarterfinal after upsetting 1-seeded Vermont University in the second round of the tournament. With hopes of becoming a Cinderella, Hofstra traveled to Furman from Hampstead, N.Y., located on Long Island.
In front of a big crowd at Stone Stadium, Hofstra scored the first goal of the game in the 17th minute, leading 1-0. Furman trailed the rest of the first half until shortly before halftime.
With 36 seconds left in the half, junior midfielder Diego Hernandez passed the ball across the box to senior midfielder Landon Hill, who chipped the ball to sophomore midfielder Luke Hutzell. Hutzell booted the ball in to tie the game 1-1.
In the 77th minute, Hutzell fired a shot that was intercepted by sophomore forward Wilfer Bustamante, who kicked the ball past the Hofstra goaltender for another Furman goal. This extended the Furman lead to 2-1.
Less than four minutes later, Hutzell hit the ground after a tackle that drew loud objections from fans, who thought it deserved a foul. As this happened, the live ball found its way to Bustamante.
He played a ball down the left wing of the pitch and passed to Hernandez, who was seemingly unnoticed by the Hofstra defense.
Hernandez scored the third Paladin goal of the game, putting Furman up 3-1 in the 79th minute.
However, Hofstra found its offensive groove. They answered Furman’s 2-0 goal scoring run with a goal of their own in the 80th minute, trailing 3-2.
Then, barely a minute later, the Pride scored the 3-3 equalizer.
Two 10-minute overtime periods occurred in which neither team scored, forcing them to go to a penalty kick shootout.
Penalty kicks require players from each team to attempt to score a goal in the box while the goalkeeper is defending.
Furman only needed five rounds of penalty kicks to defeat Hofstra. The Dins converted on all of their attempts, while Hofstra missed wide on their third round kick.
“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,” said Furman head coach Doug Allison following his final home match at Stone Stadium.
Next, the Paladins will travel to Portland, Ore. to face #8 Portland University in the Elite Eight on Friday, Dec. 5, at 10p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
