The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Porto Earns Preseason Honor from Conference USA
8/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 17, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In the preseason C-USA polls that were released on Thursday, the UAB women's soccer team was picked to finish seventh in 2006. The predicted order of finish, which is voted on by the coaches in the league, has SMU finishing first with UCF second and Rice in third.
The Blazers, who earned back-to-back conference championships in 2003 and 2004, finished sixth in the league last season with an overall record of 8-10-1 and a 4-4-1 mark in C-USA play.
"Regarding where we've been picked, we really don't give it much thought," said 11th year head coach Paul Harbin. "We've won championships after being picked eighth and first. We've finished sixth after being picked third. I've learned that preseason polls don't mean a whole lot. The poll that really matters will be the one in early November.
"Our only focus today is on playing Mississippi State on Saturday to prepare for our opening match at Clemson and ultimately our C-USA schedule. We have a great league. All summer long I've said Conference USA has at least seven teams with the potential to play in the NCAA tournament. It's should be an exciting fall."
A first-team all-conference selection in 2005, junior Jill Porto was the lone Blazer named to the preseason All-Conference USA team. Porto tallied nine goals, including four game-winning goals and two assists during her sophomore campaign.
"It's nice to see Jill recognized for her efforts," commented Harbin. "Across Jill's first two seasons here she's proven herself to be one of the top players in Conference USA and in the Southeast Region. Our hope is that she continues to take it to another level."
The Blazers head into action on Saturday as they travel to Starkville, Miss. to take on Mississippi State in their final exhibition game of the year. UAB will kick off its regular season schedule on Friday, August 25 when they make the trip to Clemson, S.C. to face the Clemson Tigers. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM
Sophia Mundy, Sr., F/MF, Houston (Katy, Texas)
Shoko Mikami, Sr., F, Memphis (Chiba, Japan)
Beth Martin, Jr., D, Rice (Austin, Texas)
Caitlin Robbins, So., F, Rice (Houston, Texas)
Kimber Bailey, Jr., F/MF, SMU (Garland, Texas)
Ashley Gunter, So., GK, SMU (Lancaster, Pa.)
Carley Phillips, So., D, SMU (Plano, Texas)
Jill Porto, Jr., MF, UAB (Woodbridge, Va.)
Roberta Pelarigo, Jr., F/MF, UCF (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Brittany Popoff, Jr., GK, UTEP (Westbank, B.C.)
Jami Tullius, Jr., F, UTEP (El Paso, Texas)
C-USA PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sophia Mundy, Sr., F/MF, Houston (Katy, Texas)
C-USA PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Beth Martin, Jr., D, Rice (Austin, Texas)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
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
