(Photo Courtesy of Furman Paladins)

The Furman Paladins are the 43rd DI team in our schedule preview series. The Paladins come into the 2020 season following a 2019 campaign which saw them go 4-10 overall and 2-5 in the SoCon. Furman missed the SoCon tournament for the first time since 2017. Additionally, the Paladins won two non-conference games for the first time in program history last season. 

Schedule

Date	Home	Away	Notes
2/1	Furman	Bucknell	@ Duke
2/8	Furman	Hampton
2/15	Navy	Furman
2/22	Utah	Furman
2/29	Duke	Furman
3/6	Furman	North Carolina
3/10	Furman	Penn State
3/14	Air Force	Furman	SoCon
3/21	Mercer	Furman	SoCon
3/28	Furman	Jacksonville	SoCon
4/4	Furman	High Point	SoCon
4/11	Bellarmine	Furman	SoCon
4/18	Furman	Richmond	SoCon
4/25	VMI	Furman	SoCon

Key Games

2/22 @ Utah

Furman and Utah faced each other for the first time ever last season- Utah’s first season as a DI program. In last year’s meeting, Utah edged the Paladins 8-7, despite Furman going on a 4-0 run in the fourth quarter. This year’s meeting should be just as competitive, especially after how last year’s game finished. 

3/6 vs North Carolina

The Paladins are 0-6 against North Carolina, but have played the Tar Heels extremely close over the past two seasons. In 2018, Furman went up yo Chapel Hill and took North Carolina to overtime. The Tar Heels won off a Justin Anderson goal at the 3:29 mark in the overtime period. Last season, Furman went on a four-goal run late in the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels escaped with a 14-10 victory. 

3/21 @ Mercer

Furman is currently riding a three-game winning streak against the Mercer Bears. Last season, the Paladins defeated the Bears 15-14 at home to secure one of just two SoCon wins. Furman used a big run in the first half to get ahead and escaped an aggressive fourth quarter Bears comeback. This year’s matchup has the potential to have some SoCon tournament implications, especially if both are vying for that fourth spot along with Bellarmine.