August 27, 2002
GREENVILLE, SC -- The Furman men's soccer team is ranked 13th in the nation in the Soccer America preseason poll released on Tuesday.
Indiana tops the Soccer America preseason ranking followed by Virginia, North Carolina, and Stanford.
The Paladins are ranked tenth in the College Soccer News preseason poll and 21st in the NSCAA preseason poll, which were released earlier this month.
Furman returns a wealth of talent including McNeil Cronin and Clint Dempsey, the 2000 and 2001 Southern Conference freshmen-of-the-years, and sophomore Ricardo Clark, who spent much of the off-season training with the United States U-20 National Team.
Furman also welcomes another strong recruiting class, one that was ranked as the third best in the nation by College Soccer News earlier this summer. Furman's class includes three members of the United States U-17 National Team and a member of the Trinidad and Tobago U-20 National Team.
The Paladins have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons, including a quarterfinal finish in 1999. Furman currently owns a 33-match Southern Conference unbeaten streak as it has won the last three SoCon regular season and tournament titles.
Furman opens the 2002 campaign at The Citadel on Friday before returning home to host the Spinx/Land Rover Kickoff Classic September 6-8. The Paladins will take on Creighton, Notre Dame, St. Louis, South Carolina, and Clemson this season, all of whom were ranked in the Soccer America top 25 preseason poll.
Soccer America Top 25