Paul Leese is entering his third season as assistant men's soccer coach at Furman after replacing Daniel Alvarez prior to the 2003 season. Leese was a member of Furman's 1998 and 1999 teams that combined for a 37-6-3 overall record. In his two seasons as a starting midfielder, Leese scored three goals and recorded nine assists for the Paladins. He was a member of the heralded senior class of 1999 that led the Paladins to its best ever finish, a 21-2-1 record and an NCAA Quarterfinals appearance. Leese graduated from Furman University in 2001 with a bachelors degree in business administration. Leese returns to Furman after serving as assistant men's soccer coach at Elon University for two seasons. Leese earned his Masters in Business Administration from Elon in June 2003. "I am thrilled to welcome Paul back to Furman," said Furman head coach Doug Allison at the time of Paul's hiring. "Paul was always a tremendous student of the game and a leader during his playing career and I know he will be a huge asset to this program as an assistant coach. Plus he brings two years of experience as an assistant coach at Elon to the job. Leese was born in Liverpool, England and moved to Spain as a child. He graduated from Aloha College (high school) in 1991 and spent the next several years in England. He moved to the United States in 1997 where he attended Charleston Southern University for one year. In that season, he was named Big South Rookie-of-the-Year and helped lead Charleston Southern to the NCAA Tournament by upsetting Furman 2-1 in an NCAA play-in match. During Leese's time as a student at Furman he also worked in the University's Marketing and Public Relations Department where he designed Furman's previuos athletics website, which launched in the summer of 2001. Leese also served as color commentator during the Furman Sports Network's broadcast of the 2000 Southern Conference men's and women's soccer championship matches. Following graduation from Furman, Leese continued his soccer career, playing with the Greenville Lions in 2001 and the Greensboro Dynamo in 2002, both USL D3 teams.