Football 8/13/2002 10:35:00 AM Southern Conference Furman Men's Soccer Reports To Camp GREENVILLE, SC -- The tenth ranked Furman men's soccer team will beginpreseason workouts on August 14 in preparation for its 2002 season. Furman, which returns seven starters from last year's team, is comingoff a 17-5 season, three consecutive undefeated records in SouthernConference regular season and tournament play, and three consecutive tripsto the NCAA Tournament. The Paladins will be led by five seniors, including forward AnthonyEsquivel, who was named the 2001 Southern Conference Tournament MVP as hescored two late goals in the championship match. Furman will also look tosophomore Ricardo Clark, a member of the United States U-20 National team,for on-the-field leadership. Furman also welcomes an incoming class ranked as the third best in thenation by College Soccer News. Furman's class features eight freshmen,including Gray Griffin, Chefik Simo, and Josh Villalobos, all members ofthe United States U-17 National team, and Rhett Abraham, a member of theTrinidad and Tobago U-20 National team. "I believe that this class has the potential to be one of thebest-ever at Furman, and I am excited to see what they will be able toaccomplish in the future," said head coach Doug Allison. The Paladins face a challenging non-conference schedule as they takeon Creighton, Notre Dame, St. Louis, Clemson, and South Carolina thisseason, all of which were ranked in College Soccer News' top 30 preseasonpoll. Furman will also take on three teams who received votes - Bradley,Butler, and Gonzaga. In addition, Furman enters the 2002 season looking to improve on a33-match conference unbeaten streak that dates back to the start of the1999 season. The Paladins will host Southern Conference rivals UNCGreensboro, College of Charleston, and Davidson. "This has been an exciting time for us," said Allison. "We arelooking forward to a very competitive preseason. We have some greatplayers returning, and that, coupled with the freshmen coming in, couldprove to make 2002 an exciting season."