Furman freshman Warren Creavalle scored in the 74th minute to complete Furman's rally from a 1-0 deficit and give the Paladins a 2-1 victory over 19th-ranked South Carolina before a crowd of 1,755 Wednesday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
"This was an important win for our team against a well coached South Carolina team that is in form," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "I am happy for Dane and Warren scoring the goals and pleased with our overall effort tonight."
After being put on the defensive for a good portion of the second half, Furman managed to capitalize on its opportunity for a game-winner at 73:01. Andrew Krysiak fired a shot towards goal from the right corner of the six-yard box that was saved off of the line by a South Carolina defender, but Creavalle collected a failed clearance on the left side of the box and deposited a shot for his second goal of the season to give Furman a 2-1 lead.
South Carolina opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Blake Brettschneider rose above the Paladin defense to connect with Danny Cates' long throw in and redirect it into the right hand corner past a diving Josh Zimmer.
Furman answered less then two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. Patrick Murray, taking a free kick from 25 yards out on the right side, played the ball to Michael Erwood near the top of the box who touched the ball in the path of Dane Roberts streaking through the right side. Roberts volleyed the shot past Gamecock keeper Jimmy Maurer for the equalizer at 16:02.
Zimmer earned his third win in goal for the Paladins registering five saves. Maurer stopped three shots and was the beneficiary of two saves off of the goal line by his defense in the loss.
Furman outshot the Gamecocks 11-10, including holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. The match featured 49 fouls and six yellow cards.
The Paladins continue non-conference play this weekend in Nashville, Tenn. Furman faces Lipscomb on Friday evening before taking on Belmont Sunday afternoon.