CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel women's soccer team bounced back from a disappointing loss on Friday and hung tough with Furman Sunday afternoon, but the traditionally strong Paladins were able to escape Washington Light Infantry (WLI) Field with a 1-0 Southern Conference (SoCon) victory over the Bulldogs.

Furman (8-2-1, 4-0 SoCon) may have out-shot The Citadel (5-6, 0-3 SoCon) 22-5, but the action was much closer than that as most of the Paladins shots came in the closing minutes of each half. The Bulldogs came out of the gates with energy and were able to match up well with the Paladins for most of the afternoon, even when down a player beginning late in the first half.

"Friday was close to one of the worst performances we have put in since I've been here in terms of the work rate and the desire to win. And if you're going to represent this institution, if we have to question those then there's a problem," said head coach Ciaran Traquair. "We went back and looked at that game as a staff and with the players and we all came together and realized we have to put more into competing. But I was very proud of our players today for being so well matched with Furman up until the point when we conceded the goal. That was the point where we started to struggle and gaps began to open up and teams like Furman will punish you. But we hung on in there and we maybe could have gotten another chance, but it just wasn't meant to be."

The Bulldogs' two goalkeepers, Kaeley Johnston and Logan Leask (1-4) combined for 11 saves with Leask making seven in the final 36 minutes of action despite giving up the lone goal on the day. In comparison, Kellsey Weaver (5-1-1) made just three saves as three of the Bulldogs' shot attempts were on frame.

The 62^nd minute proved to be the difference as Furman's Treva Aycock dribbled the ball into the right side of the box and sent a cross over towards goal. The ball found Caitlyn Reilly's head and she deftly flicked the ball over to the waiting boot of Erin O'Hearn who finished the series with her first goal of the season.

From there, Furman appeared to play with a bit more urgency as the Paladins began taking more and more shots, but the Bulldog defense held firm from that point on and gave the offense several good services down field that the Furman defense unfortunately corralled in.

Caroline Cashion led The Citadel's charge with two shots, including one on goal. Hannah Roth and Kaeleigh Guth each had one shot on goal as well.

The Bulldogs will next hit the road for a pair of SoCon games, including a rare midweek tilt at ETSU on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. After that, The Citadel will travel to Western Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 8, for a 2 p.m. game against the Catamounts.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel soccer team, follow @CitadelWSoccer on Twitter or visit CitadelSports.com.