Greenville, S.C. -- Furman scored a pair of first have goals and rolled to a 3-1 victory over Rutgers in the opening match of the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic on Friday evening at Patriots Point Athletics Complex in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

The win marked Furman's first of the 2011 season and improved the Paladins to 1-1-1.  Rutgers slipped to 1-1-0 on the season.

In the 29th minute, sophomore Michael Gandier picked out Clint Ritter in the box after a series of one-touch passes and the freshman slotted a shot past the Rutgers goalkeeper into the left-hand corner to give Furman a 1-0 lead.  Less than three minutes before halftime, freshman George Fradenburg dribbled around the defense to the goal line and picked out Mark Gabriel who converted inside of the box to push the Paladin lead to 2-0 at the 42:43 mark.

After Rutgers pulled a goal back with an own goal off of a set piece in the 71st minute, Alex Crooks sprung junior Coleton Henning free behind the Scarlet Knights' defense and the Shawnee, Kan., native finished a 1-v-1 chance with the keeper to up the Furman cushion to 3-1.

Rutgers fashioned a 15-10 edge in shots, including a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal, but Paladin keeper Alec Kann recorded seven saves to stifle the Scarlet Knights attack.  Starter Adam Klink stopped one shot for Rutgers while Kevin McMullen recorded three stops.

Furman will face 26th-ranked Princeton at noon on Sunday while Rutgers will battle host College of Charleston immediately following the Furman match.

Follow www.FurmanPaladins.com and www.Twitter.com/FurmanPaladins for updates on Furman Men's Soccer throughout the 2011 season.