Creighton University
Furman
Bluejays Fall To No. 23 Furman In Men's Soccer Action
9/8/2002 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2002
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Creighton men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2002 season Sunday afternoon at the Furman Invitational. The Jays fell to host, No. 23 Furman, by a 4-2 final to drop their record to 2-1-1 on the season.
The Bluejays, who poured in four goals against No. 19 Kentucky Friday night, looked like they were headed for another high-scoring affair when they found the back of the net just 15 minutes into play. Sophomore Julian Nash scored his second goal of the tournament when he knocked a shot past the Furman keeper at 15:16. Luiz Del Monte, who served the ball on a corner kick was given an assist on the tally.
Furman (3-0-0), which is ranked as high at No. 10 in some national polls, then rattled off four unanswered goals to hand the Jays' their first loss. The Paladins notched the equalizer before the end of the first half. The 19th-ranked Paladins then hit the go-ahead goal off of a questionable free-kick call, which the Furman player appeared to have been offsides on the play.
Two more goals made it 4-1 Paladins, before freshman Jered Turner scored his first career goal at 86:01.
After senior Mike Tranchilla missed Friday night's game due to a death in his family, the Jays once again played without a key member of their offense on Sunday. Junior David Wagenfuhr missed the game after leaving Friday night's action due to a leg injury. Emerging CU star Damien Westfield then left Sunday's game with an arm injury.
"Furman has a very good team and they are somebody we expect to be around deep in the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Bob Warming. "Playing under adverse conditions with a few questionable calls will only make our guys stronger in the end."
Senior Joe Wieland was named the Defensive MVP of the Furman Invitational. Nash, who scored two goals and had two assists in the Jays' two games was also named to the all-tournament team. Forward Kama Bennah, who unloaded three shots on Sunday also played well enough to make the all-tournament team.
Creighton returns home on Friday when they play Dayton as part of the annual Ameritas Classic at Tranquility Park. The Jays and Flyers play at 7:30, following the Oral Roberts versus Drake match up at 4:30.
