BOONE, N.C. – A Chris Thomas goal in the 33rd minute combined with a stingy defensive effort lifted the Elon men’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the No. 16 ranked Furman Paladins on Friday night, Nov. 11, in the semifinals of the 2011 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship.
 
With the win, sixth-seeded Elon (8-10-2) advances to the league championship game on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. versus top-seeded UNCG. Sunday will mark Elon’s second appearance in the SoCon title game. The last time Elon made it to the league championship game was in 2009 against Wofford.
 
 “We’re extremely excited to come up with a win against a very talented Furman team. They’re a quality opposition and they’re going to go on to the national tournament,” said Elon head coach Darren Powell. “Our guys stuck to the game plan tonight and stayed focused and scored a good goal to give us a chance to defend for the entire second half.
 
We were able to pass the ball well tonight and create opportunities and we’re extremely excited to play for the Southern Conference championship on Sunday.”
 
Furman is the highest nationally ranked team the Phoenix has beat at the Division I level. Elon’s last victory over an opponent nationally ranked in the top 25 was in 2006 when Elon topped No. 17 UAB, 2-0, at the UNCG Classic in Greensboro.
 
After maintaining possession in Furman territory for most of the first half, the Phoenix finally broke the Paladins down to take a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. Gabe Latigue found Thomas on the left side of the box and Thomas’ strike from about six yards away landed behind Furman goalie Alex Kann for his eighth score of the year.
 
The two squads went into the locker room even at five shots apiece. Elon held a slight 1-0 advantage in corners at intermission.
 
Furman’s offense came out firing in the second half, as the Paladins registered 13 shots over the final 45 minutes against the Elon defense.
 
The Phoenix nearly took a 2-0 lead in the 80th minute on a great strike from Latigue from about 30 yards out, but Kann made a leaping save to knock the ball out of play.
 
Elon goalie Nathan Dean came up with six saves in the victory to help Elon to its second straight shutout and eighth of the season.