NEW LEE UNIVERSITY men’s soccer coach Paul Furey, seated left, inked his first official signee recently when Jermaine Kareem Gordon, seated center, agreed to play for the Flames. Joining in the celebration were Gordon’s sister Kara-Jade, seated right, plus parents, standing, Daniel and Olive Gordon. Photo provided by Lee University
Furey’s first official signee was a member of the University School of Nashville soccer team which won TSSAA Division II-A region and state championships in 2010, and then went 19-0 in 2011, claiming another region crown, before falling to Evangelical Christian in the state playoffs.
The Tigers are coached by Kareem’s father, Daniel Gordon. During the summer months, Kareem is a member of the FCA club team. He will contend for playing time at forward for the Flames and Furey.
He was named the MVP of the Tournament of Champions and the Division II All-Region Player of Year in 2011. In the classroom he captured the Model United Nations award for best thesis and research.
“I selected Lee because of its strong academics, great soccer program and fantastic environment,” said Gordon, who lists his dad as having the biggest influence on his soccer career.
He feels his strength, explosiveness and shooting power are his strong points as he heads into college soccer. “I’m going to train harder and get stronger,” he added. “I’m working on getting better at going for headers and my accuracy.”
Gordon will likely concentrate on finance or something leading up to engineering as he points toward his college classroom studies.
