Defying the Rankings: Charleston Men’s Soccer Topples Two Giants
Ben Kane
Fifteen.
Does it represent the name of a Taylor Swift song?
What about the number of times Real Madrid has won the Champions League?
Or even the number on the back of sophomore Stian Bendvold’s shirt?
While all those meanings are true, for the Charleston men’s soccer team, it represents the national rankings of two programs it has bested this season: North Carolina and Furman.
The first win came on Sept. 1, when the Cougars hosted and defeated then-No. 15-ranked North Carolina 2-0. Posting a 2-5-1 record against the Tar Heels heading into the contest, Charleston blanked UNC off the back of goals from Matt Lenert and Pavel Dashin.
The strong defensive performance etched itself in the history books as the first against the Chapel Hill-based program since a 3-0 win on Oct. 4, 1995.
After a 1-0 loss to Elon five days later, Keith Wiggans' side slowly began to regain form with results against USC Upstate (1-0 win) and Campbell (0-0 draw).
Heading into the Furman game, the Cougars had tallied clean sheets in three of their last four games, highlighted by the fine form of graduate student goalkeeper Jourdan Schumacher.
The former Coastal Carolina shotstopper had a heavy hand in the 1-0 win over Furman, shutting down a persistent Paladins offense that got off 14 shots in the contest.
The result not only marked the second against a top-25 program this season, but also the second clean sheet against such opposition during the 2025 campaign.
After 2025 Hermann Trophy Watch List selection Noah Gold netted in the first half, Schumacher’s name was called on three times in the second, and he answered with three decisive saves to seal the victory.
Although a member of Charleston’s program since 2022, the graduate student is making his first appearances in goal for the Cougars this season and is making the most of his minutes in goal, recording 19 saves for four clean sheets against very formidable foes.
With the tougher portion of their non-conference schedule behind them, the Cougars will use the current three-game unbeaten streak as motivation heading into battle against UNCW on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.
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