October 13, 2000

LADY PALADINS AIM TO WIN CONFERENCE ON ROAD

GREENVILLE, SC -- If the 17th ranked Furman women's soccer team wishes to continue its best season in school history and claim its second straight Southern Conference championship, it will have to do it on the road in the next six days.

The Lady Paladins sit alone atop the Southern Conference standings with a 6-0 league record, but will play each of the three teams tied for second place on the road in the next six days.

Furman travels to Davidson, N.C., on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tilt with Davidson College (3-1 SoCon record) in a rematch of last season's four overtime SoCon Tournament final. After a one day break, Furman visits UNC Greensboro (3-1 SoCon record) on Monday night at 7 p.m., before taking on Wofford (4-1 SoCon record) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Spartanburg.

"This three-game stretch could make or break our season," said Furman head coach Brian Lee. "We have our goals set high this season and we have done a great job reaching each of those goals so far this year. Winning the Southern Conference is critical and these three matches will determine if we can repeat as conference champs."

Furman is currently 14-1 on the season and ranked 17th in the nation in both the American Soccer Writers and the Soccer Buzz national polls. The Lady Paladins are 25-2 in their last 27 matches and have won 18 straight Southern Conference showdowns.

"The Southern Conference as a whole is having its best season ever," said Lee. "Every match is a fight, especially on the road."

The Southern Conference trio of Furman, Davidson, and UNCG owns a combined 4-0 record against SEC teams in 2000 and a remarkable 3-3-1 record against the ACC, typically regarded as the best conference in the nation.Those three SoCon teams have outscored their SEC counterparts 17-3 and have only been outscored 8-7 by the ACC. Furman, alone is 1-1 against the ACC (3-2 positive goal differential) and 2-0 against the SEC (12-2 goal differential).

The Lady Paladins are leading the nation in total goals as Furman has scored 65 goals in the 2000 campaign. Leading scorers Emily Turgeon (14 goals, 15 assists, 43 points) and Melissa Turner (17 goals, 7 assists, 41 points) are first and second in the nation in total points.

2000 Southern Conference Standings:

• Furman 6-0, 14-1
• Wofford 4-1, 9-3
• Davidson 3-1, 10-4
• UNCG 3-1, 6-6-1
• Georgia Southern 3-2, 11-3
• Appalachian State 2-3, 5-7-1
• Western Carolina 2-4, 8-6-1
• College of Charleston 1-3, 2-10
• Chattanooga 1-5, 4-6
• ETSU 0-5, 6-7

Saturday, October 14

Furman at Davidson, 1 p.m

Monday, October 16

Furman at UNCG, 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 19

Furman at Wofford, 7 p.m.