Greenville, S.C. – Furman scored twice in a span of four minutes early in the second half to break open a scoreless game, and the Paladins went on to post a 7-0 victory over The Citadel in the Southern Conference women's soccer opener for both teams.

Furman, chosen the SoCon preseason favorite by the league's head coaches, improved to 6-2-1 overall while the Bulldogs dropped to 2-4-2. The Citadel stays in the Upstate to face Wofford on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Citadel defense and goalkeeper Naomi Carter held Furman off the board for the opening 53 minutes despite facing 23 shots over that span. Carter made five first half saves and added four more at the outset of the second half before Hannah Stanifer headed in a corner from India Robinson for the first goal of the game.

The Paladins continued to attack the Bulldog net, and it resulted in another goal off a corner kick when Robinson sent in a ball that deflected off the foot of Stephanie DeVita and Carlie Couch tapped it in to make it 2-0 at the 57:01 mark.

Robinson, who entered the game ranked second in the nation in assists with eight, garnered her third of the night in the 72nd minute when her corner was headed in by Alyssa Althoff to make it a three-goal game.

Furman added four more tallies, including a goal by Robinson to give her a five-point night. The Paladins finished with 45 shots, including 28 in the second half, while holding the Bulldogs to nine and only one on goal.

Carter played the first 77 minutes and made 15 saves while allowing five goals. Sarah Katchen went the rest of the way for The Citadel. Rose Hull made one save in the first half for Furman, and Maggie Griswell was not forced to stop a Bulldog shot over the final 45 minutes.

The Citadel had an opportunity to break out on top in the first half with a flurry that included three shots in a span of three minutes, 15 seconds. But scoring chances by Ruth Leiva and Lea Raedle were blocked by the Furman defense, and Karina Schneider was wide on a shot off a corner kick.

Carter then recorded two saves in the final two minutes to keep the game scoreless at halftime.