Aug. 24, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - Furman's Rachel Fry hammered a header past East Tennessee State goalkeeper Erin Bilyeu in the 42nd minute to lift the Lady Paladins to a 1-0 victory over the Buccaneers in exhibition soccer action Friday afternoon in Johnson City, Tenn.

After dominating possession and creating several scoring opportunities in the first period, Furman cashed in when Fry rose above a pair of defenders to meet Sara El-Shami's cross and deposit it in the back of the net less than four minutes before halftime.

"I thought we had a good performance today," said head coach Andrew Burr. "Considering this was our first chance of the preseason to go 11-on-11 and the temperatures were in the mid 90's, we created a number of chances and got to look at a lot of different combinations."

The Lady Paladins, who played 19 players in the 90-minute tune-up, held a commending 18-3 edge in shots. The Bucs forced Furman goalkeeper Briana da Mota into just two saves, while Bilyeu made seven saves on the day to help ETSU stay within striking distance.

Furman continues preseason preparations this coming week before opening the regular season at the LSU Classic in Baton Rouge, La., on August 31. Furman will battle Louisiana Tech on Friday before facing Southern Miss on Sunday.