DeLand, Fla. -- Freshman Kristin Fennegan and senior Rachel Shelnutt each tallied second half goals to lead Furman to a 2-0 victory at Stetson in non-conference women’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon.

The victory, Furman’s third in its last four matches, improved the Paladins to 5-4-0.  Stetson dropped to 1-6-1 on the season.

“It was great to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday and get a win today,” said Furman head coach Andrew Burr. “We defended well to get the shutout and Caitlin Shelton did an excellent job of leading our backline.”

Furman opened the match on the attack creating several chances in the opening minutes.  Hannah Stanifer forced Stetson goalkeeper Grace Turner into an early save and Shelnutt called Turner into action twice in the final 15 minutes of the half.  Freshman Nnemdilim Ubezonu came close to scoring with less than eight minutes to play in the first period, but had her close range shot saved off of the line by a Stetson defender.

The Paladins finally broke through in the 61st minute when Fennegan netted the first goal of her collegiate career.  Dee Makris fed the ball to Shelnutt who slotted a pass behind the back line to Fennegan on a diagonal run.  The Harlingen, Texas, native collected the pass and ripped a left-footed shot past Turner at 60:46 mark.

It took Furman less than five minutes to double the lead as Fennegan and Shelnutt combined again.  Shelnutt beat her defender and received a pass from Fennegan before firing past Turner for her third goal of the campaign at 65:14.

Senior Jessica Smith and freshman Holly Reilly combined in goal to notch the shutout for the Paladins as each keeper registered a pair of saves.  Turner totaled three saves for Stetson.

Furman managed a 7-6 edge in shot attempts on goal and 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.

The Paladins open Southern Conference play on Friday evening when they host the Davidson Wildcats at Stone Soccer Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Log onto www.FurmanPaladins.com for updates on the Furman women’s soccer team throughout the 2011 season.

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