LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI men's soccer team enters the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament as the no. 6 seed, and will open play Friday at 4 p.m. against no. 3 Furman University. The contest will be played on Wofford College's Snyder Field.
Last Time:
VMI played Furman tough on Oct. 7, but fell 1-0 on Senior Day on
Patchin Field. The Paladins scored the game's only goal on a Luke Tandy free kick at the 26:01 mark of the first half.
The
Keydets had several chances to tie the game, including several late in the contest. VMI had 11 shots on the afternoon and held a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. The
Keydets fired the last three shots of the contest, including two in the final minute. An
Amari Benjamin attempt was saved by the keeper and
Timofey Dovgalyuk had a shot go wide as time expired. Sophomore keeper
Zack Murphy made six saves.
About the Keydets:
The Keydets have had a break-through season under head coach
Nick Regan.
Some highlights include:
*The program's first win against a Division I opponent since 2014 (1-0 victory over Radford on Sept. 19)
*Most goals in a game in 16 years (9-0 win over Regent on Oct. 11)
*The most goals against a Division I foe since 2012 (4-2 win at Queens on Oct. 25)
*The first SoCon Player of the Week since 2002 (
Kyle Grant – Offensive;
Dylan Holbach – Defensive on Sept. 26)
*VMI's five wins is the most for the program since 2007
About the Paladins:
Furman enters the SoCon Tournament 8-5-3 overall, but dropped its last two conference games. Christian Kraus has seven goals and four assists on the year while Dylan Lane has three goals and three assists. Aaron Salinas has logged the most time in net for the Paladins, and has a 5-3-2 record, a 71% save percentage and allows 1.21 goals per game.
Semifinals
The winner of Friday's match goes on to face host school and no. 2 seed Wofford College Sunday at 2 p.m.
