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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- With just under four minutes to play in Sunday's Southern Conference showdown being held on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium, Furman's Treva Aycock broke a 2-2 tie with her third goal of the match as the Paladins came from behind to tally a 3-2 home victory against the Samford Bulldogs.
 
With her game-winning goal at exactly 3:58 left in the match, Aycock registered her first career hat trick and lifted Furman (8-1-1, 2-0 SoCon) to the victory.
 
Samford (5-3-2, 1-1 SoCon) received goals from true freshman Erin Bonner and senior Malcanisha Kelley on Sunday, but couldn't find a defensive answer for the Paladins' Aycock. The freshman forward from Marietta, Georgia, scored the second, third and fourth goals of her young collegiate career in the 46^th, 56^th and 87^th minutes, respectively.
 
With the hard-fought road loss, the Bulldogs had their undefeated streak snapped at five matches. Prior to Sunday, Samford's most recent loss occurred at home against No. 24-ranked Auburn on Aug. 28.
 
Furman, which entered the match in first place in the SoCon standings, extended its winning streak to four-consecutive games. After suffering their only loss of the season in a 4-2 home setback against UNC Wilmington on Sept. 11, the Paladins have rattled off victories over Presbyterian, 3-0, South Carolina State, 8-0, Chattanooga, 4-0, and Samford, 3-2.
 
The Bulldogs struck first Sunday as Bonner headed home her second goal of the weekend in the 41^st minute of play. Bonner, Samford's talented forward from Deatsville, Alabama, connected on a perfectly-placed crossing pass from senior Jermaine Seoposenwe from the right side of the box. Bonner skied high to power the shot into the corner, too far to the right of Furman goalkeeper Rose Hull.
 
Bonner's goal gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
 
Momentum didn't stay with Samford for long Sunday as Aycock scored her first of three goals just 22 seconds into the second half. Aycock's head-turning tally proved to be a cross-field effort from right to left, neatly placed in the corner of the net.
 
Not to be deterred, the Bulldogs bounced back from Furman's goal and took its second lead of the match in the 54^th minute as Kelley beat Hull to the right portion of the net in a one-v-one tally, her fourth of the season. Kelley's score gave Samford a 2-1 advantage in the second half and proved to be the school-record 32^nd goal of her career.
 
The Bulldogs didn't lead for long in the second half as Furman quickly answered with Aycock's second goal of the afternoon approximately two minutes later. Aycock's equalizer came from 19 yards out into the top right corner of the goal.
 
Following Aycock's score, the teams battled at a 2-2 draw for the next 30 minutes of action.
 
Furman outshot Samford, 11-7, in the contest, while three of the Bulldogs' attempts proved to be on-goal. Samford also switched goalkeepers midway through the second half. Junior Anna Maddox started the game in goal and played the opening 58:26 of the match before fellow junior Katie Peters played the final 31:34 of the outing.
 
Down the stretch, it seemed as if Sunday's battle for first place in the SoCon was going to be decided in overtime, but Furman's Aycock thought otherwise. With just under four minutes remaining in regulation, the Paladins' freshman collected a pass from Rachel Shah and rattled off an attempt that caromed off the right post and bounded into the net.
 
Furman's win Sunday proved to be its fourth of the series. Samford owns a 6-4-1 all-time record against the Paladins.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Alabama, for a matchup against arch-rival Mercer. The contest will be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
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Box Score
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