Box Score (PDF)

Greenville, S.C. – Rachel Shah registered her first goal of the season and Maggie Grisell made two saves to lead Furman to a 1-0 victory over USC Upstate Thursday evening from Stone Soccer Stadium.

Shah's goal came in the 66th minute when the Paladins capitalized on a free kick following a foul in Upstate territory. Sanon Williams picked up an assist on the play after her pass allowed Shah to fire a one-timer from six yards out that helped Furman improve to 3-2-0 overall.

"This was a tough loss because we allowed a goal on a set piece and not in the natural flow of the game, but I thought our girls did a phenomenal job and never gave up," USC Upstate assistant coach Leah Fortune said. "Furman has an incredible offensive with a number of different weapons, but our backline was incredible and really made it tough on them for the entire game."

Kenzie Major nearly gave Upstate the lead late in the first half when her shot in the 37th minute hit off the crossbar and back into the field of play. Major, Alexa Hone and Haley Gethin each finished with two shots for the Spartans.

Spartan keeper Ellen Bright made five saves and leads the Atlantic Sun Conference with 5.60 saves per game.

"I am encouraged with where we are as a team and continue to see improvement with each and every game," Fortune added. "I told our team that I was proud of the way we fought and that we are going to keep our heads up moving forward."

Upstate returns to the pitch Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Spartans host Radford from County University Soccer Stadium.

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