NCAA Men's Soccer Elite Eight
Furman (15-1-5) at Portland Pilots (14-1-4), 10 p.m. EST
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| Furman sophomore forward Wilfer Bustamante |
It's rare the Southern Conference gets an opportunity like the one it gets on Friday night when Furman takes on the Portland Pilots out in the great northwest for an opportunity to make it to the Final Four of NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, which is also known as the College Cup.
Furman has charted many of major athletic achievements as an NCAA Division I program in the Northwest, with Friday night being the latest opportunity to add yet another, as a win would allow the Paladins to become the first team in Furman's rich soccer history to qualify for the College Cup.
It would also join with the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA national title won by the Furman football team, which defeated Georgia Southern, 17-12, in Pocatello, Idaho to claim the school's greatest athletic achievement, and would add another to the growing list of exceptional athletic achievements for the small, private liberal arts program of about 2,800 students located in Greenville, S.C.
Series: Furman leads 1-0 (def. Portland 2-0 in 2007 on Sept. 21, 2007)
The Last Time Furman Reached the Elite Eight...
Only one other time in its history has Furman's men's soccer program been on the cusp of such an accomplishment, and that came back in 1999 in Storrs, CT., against the UConn Huskies. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in that game courtesy of a goal from John Bradford, which gave the Paladins 33rd minute a lead, it wouldn't hold up for long, as the Huskies turned up the pressure.
UConn would end up equalizing through Brent Rahim off an assist from Lewis Fernandez in the 42nd minute. The game would go to the half tied at 1-1.
Furman grabbed a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute of the match, as Bermudan national teamer collected a loose ball in the box and finished off a shot from about 17 yards out to give the Paladins the lead and all the momentum.
With just about 10 minutes remaining, the Huskies would ultimately equalize through Darin Lewis off assists from Donny Mark and Michael Mordocco, making it a 2-2 match. The match would see a controversial match-winner off a corner kick, as Max Zeiky headed it in amid controversy in the 83rd minute, as prior to Zeiky's headed finish, the ball appeared to have struck the hand of one of the Huskies' attackers in the box, which would have resulted in a foul and a free kick for the Paladins.
Neither the linesman or the official acknowledged any wrongdoing on the part of the hometown Huskies, and in an era without VAR, it the goal stood as originally awarded. The Paladins finished the season 21-2-1 overall and were ranked third nationally by Soccer America coming into the match. The Paladins trailed for a total of 45 minutes the entire season, which gives you an idea of how dominant that former Paladin team to make it that far.
Ray Reid, who was the coach of the Huskies at the time, called Furman the best team the Huskies had faced all season, and that included having already faced off against top programs like Duke and Virginia.
Santa Clara would go on to knock out the Huskies in the next round, 2-1, in what was a four-overtime thriller. Indiana would eventually claim the 1999 College Cup with a 1-0 win in the national title.
How They Got Here:
Furman comes into the contest riding a 13-match unbeaten run, which is tied for the nation's lead along with Saint Louis, which is also still alive in the Elite Eight following its win on the road at Bryant on penalty kicks in another of the Sweet Sixteen matchups.
The Paladins, who are making their 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, have knocked off Western Michigan (W, 1-0) and Hofstra (3-3, 5-4 on PKs) to reach the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.
The Pilots arrived at this stage of the tournament by posting wins over wins over Denver (2-2, 5-4 on PKs) on penalties and then were able to squeak past a good Grand Canyon team with a 1-0 win in the Sweet Sixteen, courtesy of a goal from Joe Highfield in the 80th minute, and the Pilots did enough to keep the clean sheet intact to close out the win.
It was Highfield's team-leading 11th goal of the season, and he provided the game-winner following his insertion into the game as a substitute less than a minute after coming off the bench. The Pilots' leading goalscorer played just 11 total minutes in the game and has seen action in 19 games this season, with 18 starts.
With last Saturday night's win by the Pilots coupled with Furman's penalty kicks win over Hofstra, it sets up a first-ever home game for Portland in the Elite Eight. It's the fourth appearance for Portland in the Elite Eight in program history, including the second under current head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt.
The Pilots have made it to the Final Four twice, which came just seven years apart in 1988 and '95, respectively. In both of those seasons, the Pilots would finish as national runner-up, losing to Indiana (L, 0-1) in '88 and Wisconsin (L, 0-1) in '95.
Both of Furman's appearances in the Elite Eight appearances have come under veteran head coach Doug Allison, who is in his 31st and final season as the head coach. Allison announced his decision to retire at the culmination of the 2025 season this past summer.
Portland's Rich Soccer Tradition:
Portland is a program synonomous with success and is a known entity throughout the college soccer world for winning tradition and talent which it has produced. Like Furman, which has produced World Cup and Olympic National Team talents like Clint Dempsey, Ricardo Clark and Walker Zimmerman, the Pilots have also had players come through the program's ranks that have gone on to star for the US Men's National Team, like former goalkeeper Kasey Keller, defender Steve Cherundolo and forward Conor Casey being among the most famous.
The Pilots' soccer program has also produced some of the more recognizable names domestically in the coaching ranks, with one of the most prominent being Clive Charles, who coached the Pilots during a golden era for its program from 1986-2002.
Charles coached both the men's and women's programs at Portland from 1989-2002, which is one of the more incredible feats by any coach in any sport in the history of college athletics. He led the women's team to the 2002 national title, while presiding over both of the men's national title appearances in the college cup in both 1988 and '95, respectively.
His illustrious coaching career included helping the men's and women's programs to a combined 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 13 conference titles and led both the men and women to a combined nine college cup appearances.
Like his collegiate coaching career, Charles' service to both the men's and women's Olympic and National Teams were instrumental in helping both programs to build a solid foundation and in-turn, a reputable name worldwide. Charles served as an assistant under Bora Milatinovic in 1995, which also happened to be the same year that the USMNT shocked the world that summer, following a Round of 16 finish in the World Cup by finishing fourth in Copa America. As a part of that Copa America played in Uruguay, the USMNT stunned Argentina with a 3-0 win in Paysandu.
Charles also served as the US Women's U20 National Team coach from 1993-96 and he also was the coach of the US Men's Olympic team in 2000. He is one of five coaches in the history of college soccer to win more than 400 games in a career.
A Look at Furman's Formation and Key Players
Furman has thrived all year by being a team strong along its back line, which is highlighted by being especially strong at center back, in the form of Braden Dunham and Ryan Wagner. Both Dunham and Wagner are exceptional in the air and on winning the first ball on set pieces, as well as providing clearances that don't allow for second-ball opportunity that could yield excellent goal-scoring opportunities for the opposition.
Dunham was chosen as the SoCon's Freshman of the Year And if a team manages to crack the code of that duo, they then must deal with redshirt freshman goalkeeper Ivan Horvat, who was the SoCon's Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2025 season. Freshmen Luke Munson and Connor Stout provide speed and support on the outside and have pushed forward into the attack with effectiveness this season.
The fulcrum of the Paladin attack going forward is also a Hermann Award Watch List honoree as well as garnering the SoCon's 2025 Player of the Year award, in senior center midfielder Diego Hernandez. Hernandez has helped facilitate Furman's classic 4-4-2 formation, and it's been an attack that has been pretty potent all season. Only three times this season the Paladins have failed to score in a game, and in those games, the Paladins had two draws (vs. No. 9 San Diego 0-0/at No. 5 Virginia Tech 0-0) and one loss (L, 0-1 vs. College of Charleston) when they have failed to find the back of the net at least once this season.
Hernandez leads the team with 29 points this season, finding the back of the net 10 times while issuing out nine assists this season, factoring in on 19 of Furman's 49 total goals this season, or 38.7%.
Hernandez teams with sophomore Luke Hutzell in the center of midfield, with Hutzell netting the tying goal against Hofstra just before the half in Furman's eventual Sweet Sixteen-win last Sunday. Trip Campbell has been excellent at wing midfield in his sophomore season, netting one of his two goals this season in Furman's opening round win over Western Michigan to finish off a beautiful move up the left wing, which featured some skillful interplay between Hernandez and forward Wilfer Bustamante, leading to an excellent teamwork goal that featured a good bit of imagination to create the goalscoring combination.
Speaking of Bustamante, he's the player that adds a little bit of the South American flair to this Paladin team, as well as being a local kid, having graduated JL Mann High School and having played at local Greenville Youth Soccer giant Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA). Bustamante has eight goals and nine assists through 21 games this season and is second on the team with 25 points. He has come off the bench in 16 of Furman's 21 matches this season.
Bustamante is a goal poacher, with the instincts relatable to former professional players like former West German forward Gerd "The Bomber" Mueller or what Argentine striker Mario Kempes did for his nation in the 1978 World Cup. Those are examples of the kind of poacher that Bustamente can be in around the 18, which was exemplified by his heal-flick goal of a Luke Hutzell shot to give Furman a 2-1 lead in the second half of last week's thrilling Sweet 16 win over Hofstra.
Bustamante gets help from Caleb Johnson, who has excellent speed up top to keep stress on opposing back lines, and a very opportunistic Ryan Reid, who netted Furman's sudden death overtime game-winner in the SoCon Championship win over UNCG.
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