Clemson Women’s Soccer Team Wins 2-1 Decision Over Furman in Carolina’s Cup Friday

Sept. 14, 2007

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Clemson women’s soccer team defeated Furman by a score of 2-1 on Friday evening at the Carolina’s Cup in Charlotte, NC. With the win, 17th-ranked Clemson remains unbeaten, improving to 5-0 on the season, while Furman falls to 4-2 with the loss.

Clemson outshot the Paladins 13-6 in the match and took three corner kicks to Furman’s 1. Freshman goalkeeper Paula Pritzen posted four saves in the match for the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Tigers and Paladins played a scoreless first half of soccer, but Clemson got on the board early in the second half when freshman Samantha Fortier netted her second goal of the season and her career at the 53:35 mark. Fortier was assisted by sophomore Molly Franklin and red-shirt senior Courtney Foster. For Franklin, who leads the NCAA with a 1.50 assists per game average, it was her seventh assist of the season. Foster tallied her fourth assist of the year on the play.

Furman’s Emily Krankowski tied the game at 1-1, scoring in the 79th minute of the match. Krankowski was assisted by Anna Betton on the play.

Less than four minutes later at the 83:16 mark, Fraser Gerth scored her first goal of the season to give Clemson a 2-1 lead that it would not relinquish. It was the third goal of the junior forward’s career as a Lady Tiger. Franklin tallied her second assist of the evening and eighth of the season, on Gerth’s goal. Sophomore Katie Vogel also assisted on the play for the Lady Tigers.

“We got another win tonight, which is, of course, a good result,” said Head Coach Todd Bramble following the match, “but I still feel like we have a long way to go.”

“It was good to see some of our reserves contribute in a big way tonight. Both of our goals were scored by players who came off the bench. It is nice to know that we have people on the bench that are able to come into the game in critical situations and contribute.”

Clemson will face tournament-host UNC-Charlotte in its final match of the Carolina’s Cup on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The match will be played at Transamerica Field at the Irwin Belk Center in Charlotte, NC.

Game Summary Goals: Clemson – Fortier (from Franklin and Foster) 53:35 Furman – Krankowski (from Betton) 79:54 Clemson – Gerth (from Franklin and Vogel) 83:16 Saves: Pritzen (CU) 4, da Mota (FU) 4 Shots: Clemson 13, Furman 6 Corner Kicks: Clemson 3, Furman 1 Fouls: Clemson 12, Furman 9