September 8, 2002
GREENVILLE, SC -- The tenth ranked Furman men's soccer team defeated 19th ranked Creighton 4-2 Sunday afternoon to claim the championship of the Spinx/Land Rover Furman Invitational.
Creighton jumped off to a 1-0 lead as Julian Nash knocked in a Luiz Del Monte corner kick at the 15:17 mark.
The Blue Jays held on to the lead until the 40:56 mark when Furman defender Drew Moor was fouled in the box on an attacking run. Anthony Esquivel subsequently drilled the penalty kick past Creighton keeper Mike Gabb to even the score at 1-1.
Scott Hoch put the Paladins on top 2-1 at the 51:46 mark as Scott Hoch scored his fifth goal of the season off a Chefik Simo free kick from just outside of the box. The free kick was set up again by Drew Moor, who was fouled on an attacking run from his defensive position.
Furman extended its lead to 3-1 as Anthony Esquivel scored his second penalty kick of the night after Clint Dempsey was fouled in the box.
Chefik Simo added an insurance goal for Furman at the 84:50 mark as he took a Ricardo Clark pass, beat two defenders and scored from 15 yards out. Creighton then pulled to within 4-2 at the 86:01 mark with a Jared Turner goal.
A total of 46 fouls were called in the match and five yellow cards were issued. Furman outshot Creighton 14-8 and attempted five corner kicks to Creighton's four.
Furman's Scott Hoch was named Offensive MVP of the Spinx/Land Rover Furman Invitational with three goals in the two matches, while Creighton's Joe Wieland was named Defensive MVP. Also earning a spot on the all-tournament team were Drew Moor, Clint Dempsey, and Chefik Simo from Furman, Julian Nash and Kama Bennah from Creighton, Chris Austin and Jamal Shteiwi from Kentucky, and Paul Vogel and Brad Johns from Butler.
Furman improves to 3-0 on the season, while Creighton falls to 2-2. Furman returns to action next weekend at the Notre Dame Tournament with matches against Bradley on Friday and Notre Dame on Sunday.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman - 14, Creighton - 8
Corner Kicks: Furman - 5, Creighton - 4
Saves: Furman - 2, Creighton - 5
Fouls: Furman - 21, Creighton - 25