August 20, 2001
GREENVILLE, SC -- The Furman women's soccer team announced its 2001 schedule on Monday.
Furman in coming off back-to-back 20-3 seasons, consecutive undefeated records in Southern Conference regular season play, and consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Paladins, who are currently training and playing exhibition matches on a tour of Europe, will open their regular season in the Baylor Labor Day Classic on August 31 and September 2 with matches against LaSalle and Baylor.
Furman's home schedule is highlighted with matches against Vanderbilt and Clemson as well as against Southern Conference rivals Davidson and UNC-Greensboro.
The Lady Paladins will travel to Lexington, KY to participate in the Kentucky Invitational with matches against New Mexico and Arizona State. Furman will also continue its in-state rivalry with a road match against South Carolina. The Lady Paladins will play teams from seven other conferences including the ACC, SEC, PAC-10, and Big 12.
The Southern Conference made tremendous strides in 2000 and every indication is that the conference will be even stronger this year, making it more difficult for Furman to run the table for the third year in a row. UNC-Greensoboro, last season's runner-up anticipates an even stronger team in 2001 with new coach Eddie Radwonski. Furman is the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference, followed by UNC-Greensboro, Georgia Sourthern, and Davidson.
"I'm excited about the competition we will face this season," said head coach Brian Lee. "A schedule like this will prepare us to make a run deep into the NCAA Tournament."
Furman returns eight seniors to this year's team, including Kaye Brownlee, 1999 first team All-American, and two-time first team All-Southern Conference selection Melissa Turner. Also returning for the Lady Paladins is sophomore forward Emily Turgeon who was the 2000 Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year while leading the country in scoring.