Aug. 31, 2003
San Diego - San Diego State scored two goals in the second half to defeat Long Island 2-0 and earn the SDSU Classic title. The Aztecs were the only undefeated team in the tournament after defeating Oregon State on Friday. Heath Creager scored both goals, the first of his collegiate career after transferring to SDSU from Indiana. Kenny Fechner picked up his third assist of the tournament and was named the tournament's most outstanding defender. SDSU is 2-0 on the season for the first time since 1998 and will play at Point Loma Nazerene on Thursday.
Neither team was able to put together a serious scoring threat together in the first half as they battled for position. In the second half, LIU became more aggressive but the Aztecs took advantage to get behind the defense. Fechner lobbed a ball into Creager, who squeaked it by the LIU goalkeeper for the first goal of the game in the 57th minute. Just over ten minutes later, Eric Wohl crossed a ball that Creager took from the air and headed into the right corner to put away the Blackbirds.
Colin Hanke and Tally Hall combined for the shutout in goal, with Hanke making three saves.
For their efforts, Creager and Hanke were also named to the SDSU All-Tournament team, along with teammates Ryan Curtis and Colin Jennings, who posted the two goals in the Aztecs season opener.
Notes:
The 2-0 start is the first for head coach Lev Kirshner at SDSU... The Aztecs have not started 3-0 since 1992... The wins over Oregon State and Long Island were both the first for the program... Oregon State held a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series, while it was the first meeting between LIU and SDSU... OSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, while LIU won the Northeast conference regular season title.