September 17, 2000
GREENVILLE -- The Furman men's soccer team rebounded from its first loss of the season to defeat South Florida 4-2 Sunday in the finale of the Umbro/Spinx Furman Invitational behind two goals and two assists from John Barry Nusum.
All four teams in the Invitational split their two matches, so Furman was declared champion based on a higher goal differential.
Nusum led the Furman offensive attack as the Paladins started the match with strong intensity as he scored two goals in the first 22 minutes to give the Paladins a 2-0 lead. Nusumıs first goal was deflected off his back off a Carl Junot assist and his second was a header off a Vaughn Bethell cross.
Two minutes after his second goal, Nusum again found himself on the offensive attack as he dished to Jack Handy after taking on a USF defender. Handy finished the play as he scored his first goal of the season.
In the second half, USFıs Jeff Thwaites connected on a penalty kick to pull to within 3-1. Furmanıs Jody Keeling scored off another John Barry Nusum assist at the 70:34 mark to stretch the lead to 4-1. South Floridaıs Matt Cavenaugh scored off an assist from Jeff Thwaites late in the match to make the final 4-2.
Furman, ranked sixth in the nation by Soccer America, improves to 5-1 on the season, while South Florida drops to 1-4. Furman will take on conference foe Appalachian State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium.
John Barry Nusum was named offensive MVP of the tournament, while South Floridaıs Ryan Beaudoin was named defensive MVP. Also earning spots on the all-tournament team were Vaughn Bethell, Carl Junot, and Patrick Tanner from Furman, Sage Martina and Jeff Thwaites from South Florida, TJ Walsh and Tyler Hughes from Coastal Carolina, and Kjell Anderson and Tim Riek from Stetson.
Scoring:
Shots On Goal: Furman -- 9; USF -- 14.
Corner Kicks: Furman -- 6; USF -- 6.
Saves: Furman -- 6; USF -- 2.
Fouls:Furman -- 15; USF -- 11.