November 19, 1999

BRIAN LEE NAMED NSCAA SOUTHEAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR AND A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

GREENVILLE, SC -- Furman women's soccer coach Brian Lee was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Southeast Region Coach-of-the-Year after guiding the Lady Paladins to a 20-3 record and their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Lee is now one of six finalists for the national coach-of-the-year award.

Lee is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lady Paladin soccer program as he started the program from scratch in 1994. In six seasons, he has tallied a 66-50-6 record with an impressive 45-17-2 record over the last three years.

Lee's 1999 squad entered the season with high expectations and they surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. Furman set team and Southern Conference records for wins in a season and winning percentage and posted the nation's fifth best winning percentage. Furman also finished the season in the nation's top twenty in scoring (11th), team defense (15th), and shutouts per game (17th). Furman finished with a perfect 9-0 Southern Conference mark and won the Southern Conference tournament championship.

The award is Lee's first regional coach-of-the-year citation, though he has been the Southern Conference's coach-of-the-year three of the last five seasons. Furman was ranked in the top ten in the Southeast Region all season as it reached a peak of seventh in the NSCAA poll. Fourteen-time national champion North Carolina, defending national champion Florida, and ACC schools Clemson, Duke, Wake Forest and Florida State are among some of the teams that compete in the NSCAA Southeast Region.

Last year, Florida's Becky Burleigh was named NSCAA Southeast Region Coach-of-the-Year en route to earning national coach-of-the-year honors and the national championship.

The other five finalists for the NSCAA national-coach-of-the-year award are Tim Wheaton, Harvard (Northeast Region), John Walker, Nebraska (Central Region), Patrick Farmer, Penn State (Mid Atlantic Region), Warren Lipka, Kentucky (Great Lakes Region), and Jerry Smith, Santa Clara (West Region).