THE GAME
The Lady Paladins are entering the Southern Conference as the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. Furman will battle Appalachian State in the first round and will face the winner of Davidson and Wofford if they defeat the Mountaineers. Furman has currently won 21 straight Southern Conference matches.
THE SERIES
Furman owns a 9-1-1 all-time series advantage over the Mountaineers and have won in the last four meetings. ASU's only win in the series came in 1994, Furman's first year of women's soccer.
Furman is 8-3-2 all-time against Davidson and is 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings, including four in a row. Furman defeated Davidson 2-1 earlier this year as Emily Turgeon scored twice in the final seven minutes. Last year, the Lady Paladins escaped in the conference finals as Kaye Bronwnlee booted the game-winner in the fourth overtime.
The Lady Paladins are 5-3 all-time against Wofford and have won the last four contests between the two upstate SC teams. If Furman meets Wofford in the semifinals, it will be the second straight year that the two schools have met in the SoCon semis. Last season, Furman defeated Wofford 3-1. Earlier this year, the Lady Paladins beat Wofford 6-1 as Emily Turgeon scored three goals and recorded two assists.
THE COACHES
Furman: Brian Lee (Furman '93)
NOTING THE PALADINS
CHAMPIONS...Furman has now won the last two Southern Conference regular season titles with perfect 9-0 records each year. Furman holds a SoCon record three conference titles as the Lady Paladins also won in 1995. Furman has won three SoCon titles (1995, 1999, 2000), while UNCG (1997, 1998) and Davidson (1994, 1996) have each won two conference titles.
21 AND COUNTING...Dating back to the start of the 1999 season, Furman has won 21 straight Southern Conference matches. That streak is currently the second longest active streak in the nation, behind Florida (SEC). It is also the 11th longest conference unbeaten streak in NCAA Division I history. In the course of that streak, Furman has outscored conference opponents 77-13 and 11 of those matches have been shutouts. Eight of the 21 wins have been one goal wins.
BEST SEASON EVER...As successful a year as 1999 was, the 2000 campaign has the potential to be the best season in school history. Coach Brian Lee started the Furman program from scratch in 1994 and actually claimed the Southern Conference regular season title in his second year. The women's soccer program did not claim its first winning season until 1997 and has been on fire since. After a 12-6-2 season in '97 and a 13-8 record in 1998, Furman put itself on the national women's soccer map last season with a 20-3 campaign and the first NCAA Tournament trip and Southern Conference Tournament Title in the school's history. This year's team cracked the top 25 for the first time ever this year and is ranked as high as #13 now. Furman's winning percentage ranks second in the nation behind Notre Dame.
SECOND IN NATION... Over the last two seasons, Furman has tallied a 38-4 record (20-3 in 1999, 18-1 in 2000), good for second best in the nation behind only Nebraska. That record tops perennial national champion North Carolina by one game. Team 1999 2000 Combined Nebraska 21-1-2 18-1 39-2-2 Furman 20-3 18-1 38-4 Notre Dame 21-4-1 18-0-1 39-4-2 North Carolina 24-2 13-3 37-5
RADIO/TV...For the first time in school history, the Furman soccer team has a chance to have its match televised. The Comcast cable network will televise the Southern Conference men's and women's soccer championship matches on Sunday. Comcast can be seen on channel 73 in Greenville. Furman is also planning a radio broadcast of the men's and women's championship matches, assuming either or both teams make the championship match. Furman SID's Chris Colvin and Rob Warren will provide play-by-play while former men's soccer standout Paul Leese will provide color commentary.
WINNING STREAK...Furman has posted two impressive winning streaks this season. The Lady Paladins started the season with ten straight wins and have currently win eight in a row. Neither of those match the Furman record of 11 straight wins from October 5, 1999 through November 7, 1999. Furman would match that streak if they win the SoCon Tournament.
OCTOBER FEST...October has been quite the month for the Lady Paladins over the last two seasons as Furman is a perfect 14-0. In 1999, Furman lost 4-3 to South Carolina on September 30 and didn't lose again until the NCAA Tournament on November 10. This season, Furman dropped its only match of the season on September 23 to Clemson and have won eight straight.
THE RECORDS KEEP FALLING...Furman has broken a number of records again this season. Entering the season, the Furman single season record for goals was 13. Three players have topped that mark this season, led by Emily Turgeon's 21 goals. Turgeon has also broken the single season points record as she has 59 points so far this season. The old record was 43 by Kaye Brownlee last season. With two more assists Turgeon can make it a clean sweep of single season records as she has 17 assists on the year, two shy of Brownlee's 1999 mark of 19. As a team, this Furman team has broken records for goals, wins at home, and wins on the road.
TURBO TURGEON...Freshman Emily Turgeon has made an immediate impact for the Lady Paladins this season. Turgeon is currently the nation's leader in points as she has 59 points on 21 goals and 17 assists this season. She has recorded a goal or an assist in 16 of Furman's 19 matches. Below is a list of the top five scorers in Division I and a list of the top three freshman point performances in NCAA history. NCAA records only list players with 67 or more points in a season, so Turgeon would need eight more points to rank third all-time in NCAA history. She also became the first player in SoCon women's soccer history to be named freshman-of-the-year and player-of-the-year in the same season.
2000 NCAA D-I Leaders (Total Points):
Player, School Points (G/A)
Top Freshman Scorers In NCAA D-1 History
Player, School Year Points (G/A)
FRESHMAN DUO...One of Turgeon's counterparts up top for Furman is fellow freshman and roommate Danielle Petro. Petro has had an incredibly successful season as well as she has scored 14 goals and recorded 8 assists on the year. She scored the lone goal in Furman's 1-0 shutout of UNCG to clinch the conference title and notched a hat trick in her first-ever collegiate match against ETSU.
SCORING FORWARDS...While it may not seem unusual to most, Furman's scoring has been dominated by forwards this year. Last season, Furman's midfield provided most of the scoring punch, but in 2000, Furman's three starting forwards have 21, 18, and 14 goals this season (69 percent of Furman's scoring).
UNSTOPPABLE TURNER...Melissa Turner has been one of Furman's most prolific scorers again this season. After tying for the team lead with 13 goals a year ago, Turner has increased her scoring punch this season to score 18 goals and notch 10 assists. She ranks among the nation's top 10 in scoring this season. Turner was selected to the all-tournament team at all three tournaments Furman played in this year and has now been an all-tournament pick at each of the last eight tournaments that Furman has participated in. Turner is one goal away from tying Melissa Sutton as Furman's all-time leading goal scorer.
SPECIAL KAYE...While Kaye Brownlee has not put up the same statistical numbers she did her first two years, her play has not diminished. Brownlee became Furman's first 1st Team All American in 1999 as she was an NSCAA first team All American. Brownlee was also the Southern Conference female athlete-of-the-year a year ago. This season, she has scored four goals and recorded 10 assists as one of Furman's two center midfielders. Her 46 career assists currently ranks 25th all-time in NCAA Division I history and she is on pace to finish in the top ten. Kaye was selected as a first team All-Southern Conference pick for the third year in a row.
WELCOMED ADDITION...One of the most pleasant surprises after the 1999 season was addition of Nancy Mather to the Lady Paladin program. Mather played at Michigan for two seasons where she helped lead the Wolverines to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a second round appearance in 1999. She played in 41 matches, while starting 14 for Michigan over her two years in Ann Arbor. Mather joined the Lady Paladin program last spring and made an immediate impact. After coming off the bench for the first three matches of this season, Mather earned a starting spot as outside midfielder and has started every match since. Lee moved Mather to sweeper in the Western Carolina match and she has played all 90 minutes in every match since then as Furman's defensive anchor.
CONSISTENCY...Senior Sarah Tollick has been one of Furman's most consistent playmakers and leaders over her career. Tollick has started all 83 matches that Furman has played over her career, a Furman record. She ranks second all-time in career assists with 32, fifth all-time in career goals with 21, and fifth all-time in career points with 74.
ALL SOCON...Furman dominated the All-Southern Confernce teams as six Lady Paladins were selected to the first team. Senior Sarah Tollick made had her second straight all-conference season as was a first team pick for the first time. Senior Bridgett Giles made the first team for the second straight season and is now a three-time all-conference pick. Juniors Kaye Brownlee and Lauren Killey were first team selections for the third straight year, while junior Melissa Turner has been an all-conference selection three times, including two first team picks. Rounding out Furman's first team selections was SoCon Player-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year Emily Turgeon. Two Lady Paladins were second team picks as goalkeeper Melissa Barnes and freshman forward Danielle Petro earned honors. For Barnes it was her third straight all-conference season (one first team, two second team picks).
OVERTIME???...Last season, Furman played in a remarkable eight overtime matches, posting a 6-2 record. This season, Furman has yet to play an overtime match. Seven matches have been decided by one goal, but none of them were won in overtime. Furman's closest overtime scare came at Davidson, but Emily Turgeon's game-winner with 28 seconds to play gave Furman the 2-1 win in regulation.
TOP 25...On September 18, Furman cracked the top 25 for the first time in school history as the Lady Paladins were ranked in both the American Soccer Writer's national poll and the Soccer Buzz poll. Furman entered ASW at 25th and Soccer Buzz as 23rd. The Lady Paladins have risen each week and are now ranked 13th by both the American Soccer Writers and by Soccer Buzz.
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!...While Furman is 3rd in the nation in scoring, the Paladin defense has also made a big difference. Led by marking backs Bridgett Giles and Lauren Killey along with sweeper Nancy Mather and goalkeeper Melissa Barnes, Furman has allowed only 16 goals this season. The Lady Paladins have an overall team goals against average of 0.87 and a conference goals against average of 0.67.
IN THE NATIONAL STATS...Furman currently ranks in several national statistical categories. Individually, Emily Turgeon leads the nation in total points and points per match, while Melissa Turner places fifth in total points and 10th in points per match. Turgeon ranks second in goals and seventh in goals per match. As a team, the Paladins are 3rd in scoring.
BEST EVER SOCON...The 2000 season has easily been the best season in Southern Conference history. Furman has been in the national top 20 for most of the year, while four SoCon teams have been ranked in the region's top ten for most of the season (Furman, UNCG, Georgia Southern, and Davidson). The Southern Conference owns a respectable 3-6-1 record against the ACC and is 6-4-1 against the ACC. The top four teams in the Southern Conference are 3-4-1 against the ACC and 6-0 against the SEC.
BEATING THE BIG BOYS...Furman defeated three teams from the SEC, one from the ACC, one from the Big East, and one from Conference USA this season. In those matches against schools from much larger conferences, the Paladins outscored opponents 26-8.
SOUTHERN CONNECTION...The Furman women's soccer team is comprised of an array of talent from throughout the Southeast plus some from a bit farther. Home States (24 man roster)
ELITE PROGRAMS...For the second straight season, the combined record of the Furman men's and women's soccer teams is the best in the nation. The Furman men are 13-3-1, while the Furman women are 18-1. Clemson, just a 45 minute ride from Furman, has the second best combined record in the nation, tied with North Carolina.
School Men Women Total .Pct