Aug. 17, 2006
IRVING, Texas - The UCF women's soccer team was selected to finish second in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches poll released by the league office on Thursday.
SMU, which shared the 2005 C-USA regular season title with the Golden Knights, topped the rankings, while 2006 C-USA Tournament Champion Rice was picked to finish third. Memphis and UTEP rounded out the top five.
"C-USA is definitely positioning itself as one of the best women's soccer conferences in the country, which you can see from the quality of the teams further down the list in this preseason ranking," said UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell, who is in her eighth season at the helm. "There are at least eight teams that can compete for the championship."
In addition to the team being voted second, senior forward Roberta Pelarigo was named to the preseason all-conference team. Pelarigo recorded a team-leading 14 goals and 32 points in 22 matches and was named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team in 2005.
"Roberta being recognized as an impact player in the conference is a tribute to how well she played last year," said Cromwell. "We hope to have more of our players recognized for their efforts as the season continues."
UCF finished last season with an 8-1 record in league play before losing in the second round of the conference tournament.
The Golden Knights play exhibition matches against USF on Friday at 7 p.m. and Florida on Sunday at 4 p.m.
"We are excited to play two quality teams this weekend," said Cromwell. "The players have been training hard and they are ready to compete against an opponent other than each other. These scrimmages will help us prepare tactically and technically for our first game next weekend."
UCF makes its regular season debut at Miami on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.
Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. SMU
2. UCF
3. Rice
4. Memphis
5. UTEP
6. Colorado College
7. UAB
8. Houston
9. East Carolina
10. Tulsa
11. Marshall
12. Southern Miss