ELON, N.C. – Chris Thomas kicked his sixth game-winner of the season with a penalty kick golden goal in the 92nd minute to give Elon (8-2-1, 2-0 Southern Conference) a 1-0 win over the Furman Paladins (8-2-1, 1-1 SoCon) at Rudd Field on Saturday night.
Thomas added his 16th strike of the year after drawing a foul on the Paladins in the opening minutes of the extra session. Thomas obtained position in the box after a Gabe Latigue cross forcing the defender to grab the nation’s leading scorer leading to the penalty kick.
The Snellville, Ga. native was able to maneuver the ball around Furman keeper Doug Ryan giving Elon its eighth win in ten matches and extend its unbeaten streak to six games. It was also Thomas’ second golden goal of the season.
The maroon and gold defense and keeper Nathan Dean had its third shutout of the 2012 campaign despite Furman’s 7-2 advantage on corner kicks and a 8-6 mark on shots overall. The last time Furman was held scoreless came in its season-opening 2-0 defeat against Wake Forest on Aug. 18.
Dean played every minute between the posts and had three saves on the match. Elon has now won its past two matches against the Paladins going back to last year’s upset of then 16th-ranked Furman in the SoCon Tournament.
Furman’s Coleton Henning and Tyler Peoples each had two shots to pace the Paladins. Ryan also played every minute and corralled one save.
The win came on a night where the program was celebrating its 40th anniversary as many former members of the squad were recognized at halftime.
Elon will host Wofford on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Rudd Field with kickoff slated at 7 p.m.