Aug. 12, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - With the 2008 season less than two weeks away, Conference USA released its women's soccer preseason rankings and awards Tuesday. The league's coaches voted UCF second behind Memphis, while senior midfielder Hanna Wilde (Westlake, Ohio) and junior defender Nikki Moore (Virginia Beach, Va.) grabbed spots on the Preseason All-C-USA Team.
"I think being picked to finish in the top three in the preseason is fair," said 10th year head coach Amanda Cromwell. "We lost some key defensive players and the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year in Jennifer Manis, so some teams might have put that into account when voting. But No. 2 is nothing to be ashamed of at all because C-USA is such a strong conference. Overall though, the preseason rankings aren't the most important. It's where we end up at the end of the year."
UCF and Memphis split the 2007 C-USA regular season crown, but the Knights served as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament thanks to a 2-1 overtime win in Tennessee during the regular season. Even though the Tigers got revenge in the C-USA Championships, UCF secured an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament where it defeated Auburn in the first round and tied No. 6 Florida in the second round (lost on penalty kicks). The Black and Gold completed the memorable campaign with a 15-4-4 record and a 7-1-1 mark in C-USA action.
Wilde posted a career-high 11 points during her junior season and compiled 65 shots for the Knights in 2007. Meanwhile, Moore delivered with eight points on a goal and six assists, and helped the defense post 10 shutouts. Along with being named to the All-C-USA First Team, Wilde and Moore both earned their way onto NSCAA All-Southeast Region teams as well.
"Nikki and Hanna have proven to be very good players in C-USA," said Cromwell. "They both made the All-C-USA First Team last year and we expect more of the same from them this season. But last year we had some players who were overlooked on the postseason teams, such as Courtney Whidden who was our leading goal scorer. I hope those players use this as motivation to be on the all-conference teams we select at the end of the year."
The Knights have already been practicing for a week in preparation for their season-opener at Florida State Aug. 22. They first will get together with USF in Tampa Saturday for an exhibition match at 4 p.m.
Admission to all home matches in 2008 will be free, with the first game at the UCF Soccer Complex set for Aug. 31 vs. Hartford at 1 p.m.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
2008 C-USA PRESEASON RANKINGS - TOP FOUR
1) Memphis
2) UCF
3) Colorado College
4) Rice
2008 C-USA PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Emily Beans, Jr., F, Colorado College (Griffith, Ind.)
2008 C-USA PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Molly Uyenishi, Sr., D, Colorado College (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.)
2008 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM
Emily Beans, Jr., F, Colorado College (Griffith, Ind.)
Tiffany Brown, So., F, Colorado College (Sterling, Va.)
Molly Uyenishi, Sr., D, Colorado College (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.)
Amber Campbell, Sr., GK, East Carolina (Frederick, Md.)
Kylie Hayes, Sr., F, Memphis (Piqua, Ohio)
Emiko Schwab, Sr., MF, Memphis (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Vendula Strnadova, So., MF, Memphis (Las Cruces, N.M.)
Kate Edwards, So., MF, Rice (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Sarah McFadden, Sr., F, Southern Miss (Magherfelt, Northern Ireland)
Nikki Moore, Jr.., D, UCF (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Hanna Wilde, Sr., MF/F, UCF (Westlake, Ohio)