November 23, 2002
GREENVILLE, SC -- Wes Windsor scored his first career goal as Furman defeated Loyola (Md.) 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament on Saturday. With the win, Furman advances to the second round next Wednesday night against Virginia Commonwealth. The shutout is the tenth in a row for Furman, tying the NCAA Division I record.
Windsor opened the scoring for the Paladins at the 11:17 mark. The play was set up as Ricardo Clark and Sergei Raad played a one-two combination. Clark's shot from 18 yards out was saved by Loyola goalkeeper Reb Beatty, but the rebound came straight to Windsor who one-touched the ball past Beatty to the near post.
Furman's second goal came at the 37:57 mark in almost the same fashion. Raad played a through ball to Drew Moor who ripped a shot from 18 yards out. Beatty again made the save, but the rebound was collected at the penalty spot by Anthony Esquivel who buried his 13th goal of the season.
Loyola had several chances to score in the second half. At the 47:16 mark, Vinnie Piscopo's shot deflected off his own player and a Furman defender. The shot then banked off the near post and across the goal, where it bounced off the far post. The shot looked to be headed for the back of the net until Furman goalkeeper Alex Maslow snagged the ball off the goal line.
Later in the 58th minute, Nate Lyden received a through ball behind the Furman defense. Lyden touched the ball around Maslow, as the goalkeeper came off his line, but Lyden's shot to the empty net sailed just over the crossbar.
"I am very pleased with tonight's victory," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "Any win is a good win this time of the year. It is very good to continue our season. We had good play in our midfield and we seemed to counter attack well tonight. We look forward to our next match next week."
With the shutout, Furman extends its consecutive shutout streak to ten matches, tying the NCAA record. Wisconsin-Green Bay, Virginia, and SMU each own streaks of ten consecutive shutouts. Furman also improved on another school record as it has put together 942 consecutive shutout minutes. Furman has not allowed a goal since the first half of its match against St. Louis on October 5.
"The shutout streak has happened because of everyone on the team, not just the defense," said junior defender and team captain McNeil Cronin. "The other team has to go through all 11 players in order to score. From the defense to the midfielders and forwards, we take a lot of pride in not allowing the other team to create good scoring opportunities."
For the second straight match, Furman joins the NCAA record books. In its
previous match against UNC-Greensboro, Furman set a new NCAA record as it extended
its conference unbeaten streak to 43 matches, dating back to the 1999 season.
No current Furman player has ever lost a regular season or tournament match.
"You have to give credit to Furman and to its defense," said Loyola head coach Mark Mettrick. "We knew that they were a very good team, and very talented. They took advantages of their scoring chances and we couldn't. They are a very strong, sound team, and they have some special players."
Furman freshman Chefik Simo was in attendance at tonight's match. Simo was critically injured in an automobile accident on October 11, which claimed the life of Furman freshman Gray Griffin. Tonight marked the first match that Simo has attended since the accident. Simo, who has been hospitalized at Greenville Memorial Hospital for the past six weeks, will be transferred tomorrow to his hometown of Dallas to begin his rehabilitation.
"It was very inspiring to see Chefik before the game and to know that he was cheering us on from the stands," said senior forward Anthony Esquivel. "After he came to talk to us in the locker room, we all just wanted to go out and win for Chefik and Gray. That has been our motivation for playing any match over the last month: 'Play for the guys who can't play.'"
With the win, Furman improves to 18-2-1, while Loyola falls to 13-5-3. Furman returns to action next Wednesday night as it travels to Richmond, Virginia to face Virginia Commonwealth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Scoring Summary:
Shots: Furman -- 14; Loyola -- 8
Saves: Furman -- 2; Loyola -- 7
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 2; Loyola -- 4
Fouls: Furman -- 22; Loyola -- 22