Sept. 5, 2002

Furman Invitational Notes (PDF)

Greenville, S.C. – The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team, ranked 17th in the nation, will travel to South Carolina this weekend to face No. 19 Creighton and Butler in the Furman Invitational. All four teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, and three out of the four squads are ranked in the Top 25 this week.

On Friday, Sept. 6, the 17th-ranked Wildcats will play Creighton at 5 p.m. Host Furman will face Butler following that game. Sunday’s action features Kentucky and Butler at noon followed by a Creighton-Furman match-up.

Kentucky enters this weekend with a record of 1-1-0 after opening the season last weekend at the Virginia Soccer Classic. UK dropped a tough match to Virginia, this week’s No. 1 team, 3-2, but defeated 10th-ranked Maryland, 2-1. The Wildcats earned second place in the tournament, with senior J.D. Stephenson, junior Nathan Fleetwood and freshman Dani Kamras earning spots on the All-Tournament team.

“We are looking forward to competing against two more NCAA playoff teams this weekend,” UK Coach Ian Collins said. “Both will provide stern tests and we will have to be at the top of our game to earn any kind of good result. We are getting better each game, but still have many areas that need improving if we are to be a contender for an NCAA playoff berth.”

Creighton enters this weekend at 1-0-1. The 19th-ranked Bluejays defeated Oakland, 1-0, in their season opener, then earned a draw against 23rd-ranked Notre Dame. Creighton was the runner-up in the 2000 NCAA College Cup and is a perennial soccer powerhouse.

Butler heads into South Carolina with a mark of 1-1-0. The Bulldogs participated in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic last weekend, dropping a match to eighth-ranked Clemson, 3-0, before defeating seventh-ranked Rutgers by the same tally. Butler lost to Michigan State in the NCAA First Round a year ago.