Carolinian

Issue date: 10/24/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JOHN READ/THE CAROLINIAN TAKE A BOW: The Spartans celebrate the first of Kelly Attayek's two goals in UNC Greensboro's 4-2 win over Furman Saturday night. The Spartans lead the SoCon with a 7-0-1 record and have not lost in their last nine matches.

The Spartans (8-7-2, 7-0-1) came into Saturday night's match-up with Furman fresh off of a 4-1 victory over Davidson and with a first place position in the SoCon. Tied for second place, the Lady Paladins (8-8-1, 5-2-1) also entered the game with a victory over UNC Asheville. UNCG kept its winning streak strong as they beat Furman 4-2 on Saturday night.

"Overall I was pleased with the performance, it was a great win," said head coach Eddie Radwanski. "It puts us in a good position for the regular season title and the number one spot for the season tournament.

"We finally got our team healthy again, we've been able to play players consistently, we've been able to establish a rhythm in our chemistry, and we really have grown. And give credit to the kids, they have done a wonderful job playing together; it's probably our greatest strength."

Saturday night's win over Furman began with an emotional moment as seniors Deven Beachum, Shannon Donovan, Jessie Jay, Megen Kepley, Carolyn Lindsay, Michelle Crowder, Emilie Stewart, and Christine Jodrie were honored for their contributions to the team before they took the pitch for their last regular season home game.

With bouquets of flowers in hand, the players' loved ones lined the field as the seniors' accolades were announced to the crowd. Tears were shed and hugs were exchanged, but the team did not forget what they came to the field to do, which was to beat the Lady Paladins and come one step closer to clinching the regular season SoCon title.

"There was a lot of emotion because it was senior night. (The players) used that in a positive sense and really came out and got out on top of the game," added Radwanski.

In the 20th minute, UNCG began a string of three goals in a span of nine minutes. Junior Jessica Patterson began the Spartan's scoring rampage when she accepted a pass from Donovan and booted it into the Lady Paladin's goal for a 1-0 lead. A minute later, Donovan took a free kick and fired the ball into a crowd of players in front of Furman's goal. Beachum jumped in the air to meet the ball and blasted it into the net with a fantastic header that brought the crowd to its feet.

Continued...

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