Junior Jordan Howard netted his first goal of the season in the 80th minute to send Furman past Appalachian State 2-1 and give the Paladins their eighth straight win in Southern Conference men's soccer action Wednesday evening at Stone Stadium.
Howard scored the decisive goal at the 79:02 mark after Brooks Duff dribbled through the right side of the box and ripped a shot off of the finger tips of the Mountaineer goalkeeper. The Cary, N.C., product pounced on the rebound at the left post and tapped in for the eventual game-winner.
The Paladins jumped into the lead less than five minutes into the match on Dane Roberts' third goal of the season. The sophomore found space on the right side of the box and delivered a shot that glanced off the left post and into net at the 4:24 mark.
Appalachian State equalized in the 28th minute through Lee Rutter's first goal of the season. The freshman was left unmarked and rocketed a 28-yard shot past Paladin goalkeeper Alec Kann into the left corner at 27:10 to knot the game at 1-1.
Both teams flirted with scoring a go ahead goal in the second half. Furman's Coleton Henning attempted a bicycle kick with 24 minutes remaining that flashed just wide of the right post and Appalachian State threatened on a pair of headers inside the penalty spot before Howard struck for the game-winning goal.
The Paladins held a 16-8 edge in total shots while both teams directed five shots on goal. Appalachian State was awarded two corner kicks to just one for the Paladins.
Kann, a freshman from Decatur, Ga., improved to 6-1 in goal for the Paladins totaling four saves on the night. Collin Taylor stopped three shots in the loss for the Mountaineers.
Appalachian State will try to halt a three-match losing streak when it steps out of conference play and travels to VMI for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. Furman looks to remain unbeaten in the league when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C., to face Wofford on Saturday at 6 p.m.