August 30, 2001
GREENVILLE, SC -- The Furman women's soccer team will open its 2001 campaign Friday night against LaSalle in the Baylor Labor Day Classic at 5:00 p.m. (CDT). The Lady Paladins will then take on Baylor Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. (CDT).
Furman's women's soccer players have been road warriors this preseason. After two days of preseason practice, the Lady Paladins ventured to Europe for 11 days of training, playing matches, and sight-seeing. Furman finished the trip with a 6-1-1 record. The Lady Paladins returned to campus last Sunday and departed for Texas four days later.
The Baylor Labor Day Classic features four teams with winning records from 2000. In addition to Furman (20-3 in 2000), Baylor was 10-6-3, LaSalle was 12-6, and Arizona State was 14-7-1.
Furman is coming off back-to-back 20-3 campaigns in which the squad advanced to the NCAA Tournament before falling in the first round. Over the last two years, the Lady Paladins have the fourth best record in the nation.
Among the key returnees for the Lady Paladins are sophomore Emily Turgeon, and seniors Kaye Brownlee, Melissa Turner, and Lauren Killey. Turgeon led the nation in scoring as a freshman with 23 goals and 17 assists. Brownlee was Furman's first-ever first team All-American in 1999 as she ranks in the top 25 all-time in assists in NCAA history. Turner and Killey are both all-south region performers.
The Lady Paladins will be looking to improve on their 18-match regular season Southern Conference winning streak this season. Furman has not lost a regular season conference match since October 27, 1998.