Creighton University
Notre Dame
No. 19 Men's Soccer Plays To 1-1 Tie With Notre Dame
9/1/2002 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 1, 2002
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton men's soccer team kept its undefeated mark in the Diadora Challenge alive when it tied Notre Dame 1-1 to conclude the sixth annual event Sunday evening at Tranquility Park. The Bluejays and Fighting Irish battled through a 30 minute weather delay and 110 minutes of play in front of 2,297 fans, but came away with no winner.
Notre Dame (1-0-1) got the scoring started early, when it found the back of the net in the eighth minute of the match. Rafael Garcia knocked in a header off of a crossing pass from Justin Detter to take the early 1-0 lead.
The Bluejays (1-0-1) did not answer the ND goal until the 56th minute of play. Junior college transfer Damien Westfield scored his first Creighton goal when he headed a ball past the ND goal keeper at 55:53. Matt Thomas served the ball for the forward and freshman Mehdi Ballouchy was also given an assist on the equalizing goal.
Despite having never lost in the Diadora Challenge, the 19th-ranked Bluejays have not won the event in three years. CU is now 9-0-2 in the annual tournament. Notre Dame was this season's champion due to the fourth tie-break - most goals for. The Irish, ranked 23rd by Soccer America, netted four goals to CU's two in the two-day tourney.
The match was delayed by 30 minutes with under two minutes remaining in the first half due to lightning in the Omaha area.
Thomas, along with senior Joe Wieland and sophomore junior college transfer Kama Bennah were honored on the Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team. Notre Dame's Erich Braun, who scored two goals in ND's win over SMS Saturday, was named the tournament MVP.
The Bluejays' road doesn't get any easier next week as they travel to Greenville, S.C., to participate in the Furman Invitational. CU will face No. 20 Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 6 and then faces host, No. 21 Furman on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team
Erich Braun, Notre Dame (MVP)
Greg Martin, Notre Dame
Jack Stewart, Notre Dame
Luke Boughen, Notre Dame
Matt Thomas, Creighton
Joe Wieland, Creighton
Kama Bennah, Creighton
Jed Hohlbein, SMS
Nick Pollard, SMS
Phillip Braathen, Oakland
Jason Perry, Oakland
Final Tournament Results
Saturday, Aug. 31
Notre Dame 3, SMS 2
Creighton 1, Oakland 0
Sunday, Sept. 1
SMS 3, Oakland 2
Notre Dame 1, Creighton 1 (2 OT)
Notre Dame wins Diadora Challenge on tournament's fourth tiebreaker.
1) Tournament Record (Creighton and Notre Dame both 1-0-1)
2) Head-to-Head Record (Creighton and Notre Dame tied 1-1)
3) Goal differential (Creighton and Notre Dame both ended +1)
4) Most Goals For (Notre Dame had 4 goals, Creighton had 2 this weekend)
