GREENVILLE, S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s soccer team shut out Memphis in the opening game of the Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament hosted by Furman on Friday evening.

“This was another excellent team performance for the Cougars,” said head coach Ralph Lundy. “We continue to work and fight for results and are happy to beat such a quality side in Memphis. I'm thrilled with the way our team defended and committed to getting behind the ball.”

Daan Brinkman (Amsterdam, Netherlands) scored his first career goal in the first half and Troy Peterson (Federal Way, Wash.) provided the insurance marker in the second half to earn the Cougars the 2-0 victory.

CofC got off to a bit of a slow start and allowed the Tigers to take the first four shots of the match, though none were on frame or overly threatening. CofC made the necessary adjustment around the 10-minute mark and dictated the pace for the remainder of the first half.

After the opening 10 minutes, the Cougars outshot Memphis, 7-0, over the remainder of the first half.

The opening goal came in the 33^rd minute when Sean de Silva (Port of Spain, Trinidad) connected with Brinkman on a centering feed and Brinkman slotted the ball into the left side of the net from 16 yards away.

The Cougars continued pressuring into the second half and padded their lead in the 60^th minute when Sam Redmond (Asheville, N.C.) and Robbie Benson (Rock Hill, S.C.) exchanged the ball amongst themselves before Benson sent the ball across the goal mouth and Peterson finished from the far post.

Then trailing 2-0, the Tigers became more offensively oriented and produced 11 second-half shot attempts but Cougar keeper Kees Heemskerk (Zaandam, Netherlands) was always up to the task.

Heemskerk finished the night with six saves, all of which came in the second half, en route to his second consecutive shutout.

The Cougars, now winners of three straight, conclude the Diadora/Spinx Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament on Sunday afternoon against UNC Wilmington. Kickoff is slated for 11:30 a.m.

“We will have another tough match on Sunday versus UNC Wilmington so we will have to recover and refocus in order to be ready,” said Lundy.

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