April 3, 2000

FURMAN'S NUSUM & PEREIRA COMPETE IN FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONTESTS

GREENVILLE, SC -- Furman men's soccer players John Barry Nusum and Alex Pereira, competing with the national teams of Bermuda and Puerto Rico this spring, recently competed in their first full international contests.

Nusum scored two goals Bermuda's 9-0 victory over the British Virgin Islands in World Cup Qualifying. Bermuda advanced to face Antiqua in the next round of World Cup qualifying. Nusum, a native of Devonshire, Bermuda, recently returned to Bermuda to train for this week's Olympic qualifying matches in Panama. Bermuda will face Cuba and Panama on April 6 and 7.

Pereira recorded an assist with the Puerto Rican national team in a 2-2 tie with Aruba in World Cup qualifying. Puerto Rico was eliminated with the tie.

"This is a great opportunity for these guys," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "It is an incredible honor to go back and represent your home country at the highest level possible. We have had several student-athletes play for under-17, under-20, and under-23 national teams before, but this is the first time that our guys have played on a full national team."

As a sophomore in 1999, Nusum produced one of the most successful single season point productions in Furman history. Nusum, who scored 17 goals while tallying nine assists, placed third on the Furman single season points chart with 43. One of the most exciting players in the region, Nusum finished 11th in the nation in points. Nusum was also a first team All-South region selection and a first team All-Southern Conference pick. He was honored as one of the top four forwards in Division I with the NSCAA All American award.

Alex Pereira is a junior who saw action in five matches and recorded one assist on the year. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pereira trained throughout February with the Puerto Rico national team. The squad competed in Copa Puerto Rico 2000 with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Dinamo Minsk of Belarus, and the under-23 Costa Rican national team. Pereira started all three matches in that tournament.

Furman is coming off its best season in school history as it advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 21-2-1 overall record. The Paladins finished the regular season ranked third in the nation by Soccer America.