August 2, 2001
GREENVILLE, SC -- The Furman men's soccer incoming freshman class was rated as the fourth best class in the nation by College Soccer News.
College Soccer News, an internet site devoted solely to men's college soccer ranked the top 40 recruiting classes in the nation. Perrenial national favorite Indiana had the top ranked class, followed by defending national champion UConn, North Carolina, and Furman.
Ricardo Clark and Clint Dempsey were singled out as two of the 27 incoming freshman in the country. Clark is a midfielder from Jonesboro, Ga., and is a starter on the U.S. Under-18 National Team. He is the Georgia State Player-of-the-Year, the Gatorade Georgia Player-of-the-Year, and a Parade Magazine All-American. Dempsey, from Nacogdoches, Texas, was also an All-American and is a member of the Region III ODP Team.
In addition to Clark and Dempsey, Furmanšs 2001 freshman class includes Asgeir Asgeirsson of Hafnarfjordor, Iceland, Luke Barbour of Mesquite, Texas, John Hanley of Indianapolis, Ind., Alex Maslow of Charlotte, N.C., Jon Rydarowski of Marietta, Ga., and Wes Windsor of Margate, Fla.
Hanley is also a member of the U.S. Under-18 National Team, while a total of five members of this class are members of the Region III ODP team.
Furman concluded the 2000 campaign ranked 12th by Soccer America and 23rd by the NSCAA. Furman welcomes back ten starters from last year's squad that finished 17-4-2 and claimed the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Paladins have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons, advancing to the quarterfinals in 1999 and falling in the first round in 2000.
Furman opens the 2001 campaign at home against Belmont on August 31 and its 2001 schedule features home matches against Notre Dame, Clemson, and South Carolina as well as matches against Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan.
2001 Freshman
Asgeir Asgeirsson, D/MF, Hafnarfjordor, Iceland
Luke Barbour, D, Mesquite, Texas
Ricardo Clark, MF, Jonesboro, Ga.
Clint Dempsey, MF, Nacogdoches, Texas
John Hanley, GK, Indianapolis, Ind.
Alex Maslow, GK, Charlotte, N.C.
Jon Rydarowski, D, Marietta, Ga.
Wes Windsor, MF, Margate, Fla.