December 3, 2001

NUSUM AMONG THREE FINALISTS FOR HERMANN TROPHY

GREENVILLE, SC -- Furman senior forward John Barry Nusum is one of the top three vote getters for the prestigious Hermann Trophy, it was announced today by collegesoccer.com.

Nusum was selected as one of the 15 finalists in August and joins Virginia's Kyle Martino and SMU's Luchi Gonzalez in the top three. The award, soccer's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, will be presented by Robert R. Hermann at the winning player's school on December 4.

Nusum is Furman's all-time leading scorer with 61 goals and 39 assists for 161 points over his career. He was a 1999 and 2000 NSCAA first team All-American, as well as a 1999 and 2000 collegesoccer.com All-American.

"It is quite an honor for John Barry to be selected as one of the top three soccer players in the country," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "He has meant so much to this program over the last four years and I am excited to see that he is gaining some of the recognition he deserves."

Nusum helped lead Furman to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a quarterfinal finish in 1999. In addition to holding Furman career records in goals and points, Nusum holds the Furman single season goals and points record, as well as the single game goals and points mark. Furman produced a 71-15-4 overall record in Nusum's four seasons and won four Southern Conference titles. He is the 2001 Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year.

Nusum will look to extend his soccer career as he will pursue opportunities to play professional soccer in either Europe or in MLS.

The Hermann Trophy was named after Robert R. Hermann, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the old North American Soccer League. It was first given to the nation's top male college soccer player in 1967 and the nation's top female player in 1988.

Nusum is the first men's soccer player at Furman to be nominated for a national player-of-the-year award. Four athletes in Furman's history have earned such an honor. Beth Daniel (1977 Broderick Award--women's golf), Brad Faxon (1982 Fred Haskins Award--men's golf), Jeff Blankenship (1988 National Defensive Player-of-the-Year--I-AA football), and Louis Ivory (2000 Walter Payton Award--I-AA football) each received the nation's top honors in their respective sports for Furman.

2001 HERMANN TROPHY TOP THREE VOTE GETTERS