Durham, N.C. – No. 20 Furman and ninth-ranked San Diego played to a 0-0 draw in non-conference men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium on Duke University's campus.
 
The Paladins (1-0-1) remained unbeaten on the season by holding the Toreros (0-1-1) without a shot on goal over 90 minutes to split the points in the battle of nationally-ranked teams.
 
"It's great to get a shutout against the No. 9 team in the country, and we are pleased to get two shutouts on the weekend," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison, who guided his team to a 3-0 win over UCSD on Thursday afternoon. "I wish we could have taken advantage of the extra man, but earning a tie against a very good San Diego team is a good result. We look forward to returning to Greenville and playing a couple of home games this week."
 
After a first half in which neither side registered a shot on goal, San Diego started the second half quickly with four totals shots in the first 12 minutes, including a Noah James' effort that rattled the woodwork in the 50^th minute. The Toreros' Stephen Ramirez was shown a red card at the 57:09 mark and Furman responded with three straight shots on the short-handed USD defense, highlighted by Trip Campbell's attempt that forced a save from San Diego goalkeeper Adam Salama.
 
USD was reduced to nine men in the 75^th minute when Mathias Bauer was sent off, but Salama turned away Braden Dunham's late goal-bound shot to preserve the 0-0 draw.
 
San Diego held a 7-6 edge in total shot attempts with the Paladins managing a 2-0 advantage in shots on goal. Ivan Horvat and Andrew Lapalaca combined on the shutout for the Paladins while Salama stopped two shots to earn a clean sheet for the Toreros in the first meeting between the programs.
 
Furman will open its home schedule on Thursday, August 28, when it hosts North Greenville for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium. On Sunday, August 31, Furman will retire United States National Team and Paladin legend Clint Dempsey's No. 2 jersey prior to hosting the 15^th-ranked Duke Blue Devils for a 6 p.m. match at Stone Stadium.
 
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