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GREENVILLE, SC – The Wofford College men’s soccer team secured the Southern Conference Regular Season Championship with a 4-3 win over Furman on Tuesday night at Stone Soccer Stadium. Nick Schuermann had a hat trick for the Terriers in the win.
Wofford is 9-2-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the Southern Conference to finish in first place for the first time in school history. Furman falls to 8-7-2 overall and 3-3-0 in SoCon play.
“I think back to August and the goals that we set and the last one we put on there was a regular season championship and to host the tournament,” said head coach Ralph Polson. “Just what these guys have done in the 18 months that I have been here has been amazing. It’s not unbelievable. It is amazing how hard they have worked and what they have worked towards.”
The Terriers came out quick, scoring two goals in the first five minutes of play. On the first shot of the game, Wilson Hood scored an unassisted goal from 20-yards out that went to the top right corner of the net at 1:39. Wofford kept up the offensive pressure and had a corner kick at 4:57. Yakov Rubinchik took the corner and Nick Schuermann headed the ball into the far corner of the net for a 2-0 lead. At the 18:47 mark, the Terriers converted another corner kick when Branson Hyatt crossed the ball in and Nick Schuermann’s header once again found the net by the far post for a 3-0 lead. Wofford had a six to two advantage on shots in the first half.
In the second half, the momentum turned to the Paladins. Furman scored at 52:19 on an unassisted goal by Jordan Howard on a free kick. Three minutes later, Howard had a shot for the Paladins that was saved by Thomas Hunter. Furman added a second goal at 62:32 to make it a 3-2 game when Alex Crooks scored with an assist from Eric Cobleigh.
Wofford answered on a corner kick once again, as Yakov Rubinchik found Nick Schuermann for his third goal of the game at 63:21 to take a 4-2 lead. Furman added a third goal with just 5:56 left in the game when Nasarachi Onyeuku was free in the box and received a pass from Alex Crooks and tapped the ball into the left corner of the net. Warren Creavalle also had an assist on the goal. Despite a flurry of action by the Paladins the final two minutes, the Terriers held on for the victory.
For the Terriers, goalie Thomas Hunter made two saves and had three goals against. Alec Kann had one save and four goals against for Furman. The Terriers had six corner kicks to Furman’s two and Furman had a 12 to eleven lead on shots.
Wofford has set a school record for wins in a season with nine. It marks the first Southern Conference title for the men’s soccer program that has finished last in the standing in each of the past six seasons.
The hat trick by Nick Schuermann was just the ninth all-time in school history and the second since moving to NCAA Division I in 1995. The Terriers have defeated Furman in back-to-back seasons.
The Terriers will play at Georgia State on Saturday, November 7 to complete the regular season. The Southern Conference Tournament will begin on Friday, November 13 and conclude on Sunday, November 15 at Snyder Field on the Wofford campus.
