Furman Women's Soccer
By: Jordan Caskey
Greenville, S.C. – Mercer tallied four unanswered goals to stun No. 2 seed Furman, 4-1, in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship Sunday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Maddie Massie heading into the first goal ‼️ pic.twitter.com/eVh3g0Z8Tt
— Furman Women's Soccer (@FurmanWSoccer) November 8, 2026
With the victory, the No. 7 seed Bears (10-8-3) advanced to face No. 3 ETSU in next weekend’s SoCon semifinal round in Birmingham, Ala. Furman concludes its season at 13-4-3.
18' | GOALLLLLLLLLLLL!!! Maddie Massie with the goal as Furman leads 1-0! pic.twitter.com/dXp00E535S
— Furman Women's Soccer (@FurmanWSoccer) November 8, 2026
After Furman grabbed a 1-0 lead on Maddie Massie’s fifth goal of the season in the 18th minute the Bears roared from behind to claim the second victory of the weekend as they advanced to the league’s final four. A turnover in the attacking third by the Paladins created a counter-attack for Mercer and Payton Nutzman setup Ariel Bolton for the tying goal from the right side of the box at the 32:36 mark.
Frames from the first half 📸 pic.twitter.com/BDBkDP5bu3
— Furman Women's Soccer (@FurmanWSoccer) November 8, 2026
Mercer took the lead less than seven minutes before halftime. Anna Bachman fed a pass to Maria Karipidis who found the back of the net at 38:02 for the eventual match-winning score. The Bears doubled their advantage at 50:12 when Elizabeth Michaelson redirected Hayden Lepley’s cross into the back of the net, and Lepley helped cap the scoring at 66:04 by assisting on Marianna Rapani’s second goal of the season.
Avery Parker stopped three shots to earn the victory in goal while Reese DeJong recorded three saves for the Paladins, who had their 10-match unbeaten run snapped. Furman held an 11-10 edge in total shots while Mercer posted a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.
furmanpaladins.com

