August 29, 2003
OMAHA, NEBRASKA -- The ninth ranked Furman men's soccer team dropped its season opener to No. 1 Maryland 1-0 on Friday in the first round of the Creighton Diadora Challenge.
Maryland's Abe Thompson scored the match's lone goal at the 57:35 mark of the second half off assists from A.J. Herrera and Noah Palmer.
"We lost to a very good team tonight," said Furman head coach Doug Allison, referring to the top ranked Terrapins. "We played a lot of new players tonight and we will be tested again on Sunday."
Maryland attempted 23 shots on the night, while Furman managed 10 shots.
Furman was without the services of junior midfielder Clint Dempsey, who was not able to make it to Omaha in time for the match due to playing with the U.S. Under-20 National Team in Spain over the past two weeks.
The Paladins will return to action on Sunday in the second round of the Creighton Diadora Classic against eighth ranked Creighton at 2:00 p.m. central time.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman --10; UMD --23 .
Corner Kicks: Furman --2 ; UMD --4 .
Saves: Furman --7 ; UMD --3 .
Fouls: Furman --12 ; UMD --10.