November 10, 2001
GREENSBORO, NC -- Hermann Trophy and MAC Award finalist John Barry Nusum scored two goals and recorded one assist as Furman claimed its 16th Southern Conference title in the last 19 years with an impressive 3-1 victory over UNC Greensboro Saturday night in Greensboro, NC. The Paladins downed the Spartans for the fourth straight time.
Furman finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 league mark for the third straight season and improves to 14-4 overall. Furman has now won four straight league titles and 11 in the last 12 seasons. Furman also owns a 30-match Southern Conference unbeaten streak.
The Paladins got on board first at the 23:42 mark with a Sergei Raad goal off a John Barry Nusum assist. UNCG evened the score at the 38:12 mark with a goal by Mike Dunaway.
Nusum broke the tie in the second half as he stole the ball from a Spartan defender and beat UNCG keeper Charlie DeMello for the go-ahead goal. Nusum added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute to extend Furman's lead to 3-1.
"This is not an easy place to win and we came in here tonight and played a good match," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "The conference tournament will be tough this weekend, but I believe this team is up for the challenge."
Furman enters the Southern Conference Tournament in Charleston, SC as the top seed and will battle Wofford Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Patriots Point. Furman defeated Wofford 7-0 last week in Greenville. UNCG, which tied Davidson for second place in the conference with a 6-2 mark, will enter as the No. 3 seed and face VMI in the first round on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
In other first round action next week, second seeded Davidson will take on seventh seeded Georgia Southern at 7:00 Thursday, while fourth seeded Appalachian State will battle fifth seeded College of Charleston at 7:00 Friday.
Scoring:
Shots: Furman-- 9 ; UNCG -- 9.
Corner Kicks: Furman-- 6 ; UNCG -- 5.
Saves: Furman--4 ; UNCG -- 1.
Fouls: Furman-- 19 ; UNCG --13 .