Men's Soccer Southern Conference

SoCon Men's Soccer Results, Aug. 29, 2003

#1 Maryland 1, #9 Furman 0

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 21 shots on the night, while Furman managed nine 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 the loser of the Butler-Creighton
contest.

East Carolina 2, Elon 1

ELON, NC -- The 2003 season opener for Elon men's soccer squad was cut short when dangerous lightning threatened the game. The contest was called at 84:24 with visiting East Carolina (1-0-0) ahead by a 2-1 margin over the host Phoenix (0-1-0). The game is an official contest.

The game was scoreless early on as neither team could muster any offense. The first goal of the contest was scored by the Pirates' Matt Kowaleski, his first of the season, at 28:55. Reed Avren tallied the assist. The rest of the first half remained scoreless.

Kowaleski struck again in the second half, sending his unassisted shot past Elon keeper Taylor Saxe at 78:08.

Elon tried to mount a late rally when Brennan Farrell (at right) tallied his first collegiate goal after collecting a Fabyan Saxe pass in the box and putting it past ECU keeper Brian Pope.

The storm hit soon after and the officials cleared the playing field. After a delay of nearly an hour, and no let up in sight, the game was halted.

Pope recorded no saves on the afternoon. Elon's starting net-minder, Kyle Ostendorf, allowed one goal and tallied three saves in his 45:00 of work. Taylor Saxe played the second period, making two saves and letting in one goal.

The Phoenix will return to action on Wednesday evening when it travels to Longwood University in Farmville, VA. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

UNC Asheville 2, Wofford 0

The Wofford men's soccer team (0-1) fell in its season opener, 2-0, to
visiting UNC Asheville (1-0) Friday evening at Snyder Field.

In a game that was evenly played, the Bulldogs tallied the match's first
goal at 56:09 when Adam Schwartz was on the receiving end of a cross
inside the six-yard box from Mike Kachen.

The Terriers remained on the offensive, trying to equalize the score;
however, their efforts fell short despite holding a 7-5 advantage in
shots.

UNC Asheville put the icing on the cake with 2:01 remaining in the
contest (87:59), as Jordan Holthouser scored on a penalty kick following
a Wofford foul in the 18-yard box.

"I think this was the type of game that very easily could have gone
either way," said head coach Matt Kern. "They were better in getting
the ariel balls in the middle third and getting to second balls. We
didn't do a super job changing our point of attack."

The Terriers will continue their season Saturday by facing Georgia State
at 6 p.m. at Snyder Field.

"Georgia State is an outstanding team," said Kern. "They have some good
speed and technique, especially in the midfield and up top. They mix up
their attack very well, sometimes with a direct approach and other times
changing their point of attack. We're looking forward to a good matchup
tomorrow."