Furman enters uncharted territory Friday night in Cary, N.C., as the program will be a part of its first College Cup Semifinal in school history, which also happens to coincide with the final campaign for head coach Doug Allison as the Furman men's soccer coach, who is in his final season at the helm of the Furman soccer program, announcing his intended retirement over the summer.
The Paladins enter the College Cup with a 7-10-7 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
The Paladins are set to meet the Washington Huskies for just the second time in the NCAA Tournament, with the only other meeting coming in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, as the Huskies were able to get a 6-5 win on penalties after the two teams finished 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.
The Paladins and Huskies have met a total of three previous times, with Furman holding an 0-2-1 mark against the Huskies. While the draw came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, the Huskies claimed a 4-0 win over Furman in the Diadora/Spinx Furman invitational and scored a 1-0 win over the Paladins in the '07 campaign.
Furman has also faced the Saint Louis Billikens three times in its tradition-rich soccer history, dropping all three previous clashes. The Billikens are the only team among the Final Four that has won a national title, having claimed an NCA A record 10 in their history, with all of those titles coming within the first 15 years of the NCAA Tournament's existence. The Billikens claimed national titles in 1959, '60, '62, '63, '65, '67 (co-champions), '69, '70, '72 and '73.
Furman hasn't squared off against the Billikens on the pitch since the 2003 campaign, when the Billikens registered a 1-0 win over the Paladins in the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational. The Billikens will be making their NCAA record17th all-time appearance in the College Cup, while also are in the midst of the program's 52nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Both Furman and Saint Louis have nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streaks.
The Billikens have made 13 national title game appearances and hold a 74-39-5 all-time record in the NCAA postseason. Interestingly, the last time the Billikens made it this far in the tournament was under the direction of head coach Bob Warming, who led Saint Louis to the College Cup in 1997, where the Billikens would drop a 3-1 contest to Virginia in the national semifinal in '97. Like Furman, which is the former home of future US Men's National Team stars like Clint Dempsey, Walker Zimmerman and Ricardo Clark, The Billikens men's soccer program has been a rich part of the fabric of the USMNT dating back even further.
One of the real keystone players for the USMNT was Harry Keough, who starred for the USMNT from 1949-57, and went on to lead the Saint Louis Billikens soccer team as head coach starting in 1967, leading them to five of their 10 national titles from 1967-73 and would end up retiring as the Billikens' head coach in 1982.
The other name that all USMNT fans should know, and another true giant of the national team in more recent times is former forward national team forward Brian McBride. McBride played his college soccer at Saint Louis from 1990-93 before suiting up for the men's national team three World Cups (1998, 2002 and '06), playing alongside Furman's Clint Dempsey in his final World Cup. McBride would also be one of the first MLS stars with the berth of the domestic league in the United States in 1996.
In a more recent era, Saint Louis has been the home college program of current USMNT center half Tim Ream, as well as current Columbus Crew and USMNT goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Furman and North Carolina State have played the most among the other participants in the Final Four, with the Paladins holding a 0-11-2 mark all-time against the Wolfpack and haven't faced NC State in a decade, suffering a 2-1 defeat against the Wolfpack at Battery Park in Mt. Pleasant back in 2015.
Allison's swansong has included some truly remarkable performances, including last time out in the 1-0 win over Portland in the Elite Eight. The Washington Huskies, who are now members of the Big Ten, called the PAC 12 home the last time the two met on the pitch, and it was a former PAC 12 foe and a Big Ten foe the Huskies had to take down as part of their path to the Elite Eight, knocking off both Stanford (W, 1-0) and Maryland (W, 3-1) to get here.
The win over Maryland offered a bit of revenge for losing to the Terps in the Big Ten champions, as the Huskies claimed a 3-1 in an Elite Eight clash in College Park.
The Paladins got a 75th minute wonder goal from freshman center half Braden Dunham, who was the SoCon's Freshman of the Year, dribbled across midfield and advanced the ball about 15-20 yards inside the Pilots' have before driving a ball over the head and into the corner of Miguel Angel Hernandez's net from 40-45 yards out to provide the only tally for either team in the match.
While Furman is making its first appearance in the Final Four, it marks on the second trip to the College Cup for the Huskies, as Washington's one other trip to the College Cup came in 2021, losing to Clemson, 2-0, in the national title game. That 2021 season ranked as the best in the history of Washington Huskies soccer.
Both the Huskies and Paladins have players that have been named to the MAC Hermann Semifinalist, as Paladin junior midfielder Diego Hernandez and Huskies senior midfielder Richie Aman are up as semifinalists for college soccer's top individual award. Hernandez's nine assists are tied for the team lead along with Wilfer Bustamante, while also marking the leading mark in the Southern Conference this season.
Furman has been able to reach uncharted territory in the NCAA Tournament by claiming wins over Western Michigan (W, 1-0), Hofstra (D, 3-3/W, 5-4 on PKs) and the aforementioned road win at Portland (W, 1-0) to reach the College Cup for the first time.
The Paladins are 0-16-3 all-time against the Final Four field
Previewing Washington:
The Huskies are under the direction of Jamie Clark, who is in his 15th season leading the program and has posted a solid record of 188-72-4 at the helm of the Huskies' program.
Washington enters Friday night's first semifinal contest with a 14-6-2 overall record, which includes a 7-3 mark in the Big Ten this past season. Like the Paladins, who lead the nation with 50 total goals, the Huskies have some offensive firepower, having totaled 48 goals through 21 matches this season, which ranks tied for sixth nationally. The Huskies also rank 14th nationally in goals-per-game, averaging 2.14 goals-per-game this season.
The Huskies finished second in the Big Ten regular-season, finishing five points behind regular-season champion Maryland, as Washington completed the 2025 season with 21 total points. The Huskies had some lopsided wins this season and have scored three or more goals in a game seven times so far in 2025. The Huskies won a 7-2 game against Seattle U, while also garnering a 6-0 win over Gonzaga.
Junior forward Charlie Kosakoff leads the way for the Huskies this season, having amassed 25 points on 10 goals and five assists so far this season. Kosakoff's 10 goals this season to go along with five assists. ended up ranking him third in the entire Big Ten in goals, while also ranking third overall in the league in points. Kosakoff scored two of the three goals help the Huskies make it past No. 4 seed Maryland.
Kosakoff has combined with MAC Hermann Award candidate Richie Aman to power the Huskies offensively this season, scoring 14 of the team's 48 goals and providing 18 of the team's 51 assists. Aman is the central playmaker for the Huskies and currently leads the team and ranks second in school history in total assists provided.
Aman has been provider multiple times in a game on six occasions this season, including most recently in Washington's Elite Eight win over Maryland, setting the table on two of Washington's three goals in the game.
Not only is Aman one of the best in the nation in setting the table for goals to be scored, but his technical ability also extends to scoring goals himself, especially in meaningful moments within a given match. His game-winning strike in the 3-2 double-overtime triumph over Oregon State helped the Huskies take their first step in the postseason. During the regular-season, Aman also scored a match-winning goal in a game at Wisconsin.
He was named the Big Ten's Midfielder of the Year last month. while also claiming First-Team All-Big Ten honors for the season.
Previewing Furman:
Furman enters Friday night's national semifinal matchup against the Huskies sporting a 16-1-5 record, which includes a 12-0-2 mark in its last 14 matches, which is tied for the nation's lead along with Saint Louis for the nation's longest unbeaten run.
The Paladins enter the 2025 postseason with a team that is well-balanced when it comes to scoring goals this season, with Hermann Cup semifinalist and junior Diego Hernandez leading the way in total goals (10), total assists (9) and overall points (29 pts) this season. While Richie Aman is Washington's primary playmaker this season, the same can be said of Hernandez, who has played both provider and goalscorer for the Paladins so far this season, and his nine assists are tied for the conference lead.
Helping Hernandez shoulder the offensive load for the Paladins this season has been Wilfer Bustamante, as the local product has also been instrumental in the offensive success of a team that has produced 50 goals so far this season. Bustamante has seen action in all 22 matches this season for the Paladins, including five starts, and has totaled 25 points on eight goals and a team-high tying nine assists.
Helping supplement Hernandez in the midfield and Bustamante in the attack are players like sophomores Trip Campbell and Luke Hutzell and senior Landon Hill, who all play key roles in the midfield, while up front redshirt freshman Ryan Reid, senior Lloyd Wamu Snell and junior Caleb Johnson (F/MF) have helped play key supporting roles alongside Bustamante up top.
While Furman has been impressive in the attack this season, the offensive success wouldn't be possible without the Paladins' stellar work defensively, which starts at the two center half positions, with both Braden Dunham and Ryan Wagner helping solidify the back line, and along with Hernandez in the center of midfield, giving the Paladins one of the stronger "spines" in the middle of the field that they have had in recent seasons.
That strength comes in transitioning the ball from the defense into attack with lighting quickness, which was available for all to witness in Furman's 1-0 win over Portland last Friday, as the ball was one by Ryan Wagner to prevent a clear breakaway for the Pilots, and off the won ball at the back, Braden Dunham transitioned the ball about 15 yards past midfield before launching a wonder strike into the back of Miguel Angel Hernandez's net for his seventh goal of the season and what turned out to be a match-winning goal with about 15 minutes remaining.
The sophomore Wagner and freshman Dunham have given the Paladins a good combo in the middle, as well giving the Paladins two of the best ball-winners in the nation at the two center half positions. Both Connor Stout and Luke Munson round out a solid back four for Furman.
Finally, maybe the biggest storyline missed among the many you could point to when looking at this Furman team is goalkeeper and the remarkable performance turned in by Ivan Horvat this season. He has done a masterful job between the pipes for the Paladins and comes into the Final Four clash with the Huskies having posted a 15-1-4 mark this season, which includes eight clean sheets. Horvat came into the season behind All-American Aaron Salinas, who has been sidelined the entire season with a hip injury.
Furman will utilize a standard 4-4-2 formation.
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