The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2013 Women's Soccer Season Preview
8/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug 20, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Entering the third year under head coach Harold Warren, the UAB women’s soccer team looks to improve on its 2012 effort and attempt a run in the Conference USA Championship. The Blazers finished the 2012 season with a 2-17 overall record and a 1-10 mark in C-USA play.
After welcoming 12 newcomers and 10 true freshmen to the team last season, the Blazers return nine of their 11 starters to this year’s squad.
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomores Courtnie Northern and Angelica Jimenez return in net for the Blazers. Northern, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, started all 19 games for UAB recording a 2.77 goal against average and making 88 saves during her freshman season. Jimenez of Pembroke Pines, Fla., appeared in three games and allowed three goals in nearly 150 minutes in net. She made 11 saves.
DEFENDERS
The Blazers will field an experienced back line featuring seniors Sam Bradford and Amy Harrison as well as junior Mary Catherine Combs. Bradford and Harrison each started all 19 games last season for the Blazers while Combs started all 16 games in which she appeared.
As a trio, Bradford (41), Harrison (19) and Combs (33) have started 93 games for the Green and Gold. Harrison led the Blazers with 1,710 minutes played in 2012.
Sophomore Ashley Naumoff led all defenders with two goals on the season and Erin Pincombe also received playing time for the Blazers, appearing in 15 games. Kirsten Ebert, who started 17 games last season, will also play a big role on the defensive end.
MIDFIELDERS
Offensively, Johanna Liney returns as the Blazers’ top goal scorer. The Marietta, Ga. native led the Blazers during the 2012 season in goals (6), assists (3), points (15) and shots (39). Sophomore Paige Hanks, who notched four goals and two assists in 14 games started as a true freshman, will also play a big role in the Blazers offense.
Joining Liney and Hanks from last year’s squad as midfielders will be Jasmine Kauka (2012 games started: 19), Kelsey Waechter (13), Abby Phillips (10) and Megan Colins (8).
Sophomores Alanna Dineen and Kennedy Depperschmidt also received playing tiem for the Blazers in 2012.
FORWARDS
Isabel Shanteau is the top returning forward from the 2012 squad. Shanteau, a rising sophomore from Huntsville, Ala., appeared in 13 contests as a true freshman recording one goal on six shots on goal.
She will be joined by fellow sophomore Kasey Johnson, who didn’t make an appearance last season, and true freshmen Kimberly Fincher and Sharon Osterbind.
SCHEDULE
The 19-game, regular season schedule for the Blazers includes 10 league matches in the new look Conference USA and a highly competitive non-conference slate. UAB opens the season against a pair of SEC teams, traveling to Nashville to meet Vanderbilt on Friday, Aug. 23 before hosting Ole Miss on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. CT in the Blazers’ home opener at West Campus Field.
“I am very pleased with our 2013 schedule,” said Warren. “We open our season against two tough SEC opponents, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Every match will be a challenge and that is why they are on our schedule.”
After taking on Francis Marion and South Carolina State in the South Carolina State Tournament in Orangeburg, S.C. on Aug. 30-Sept. 1, the Blazers will return to Birmingham to face in-state foes Troy and South Alabama on Sept. 6 and 8, respectively. UAB will conclude non-league action with three road contests at Coastal Carolina (Sept. 13), Alabama (Sept. 15) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Sept. 20).
The league slate begins with two games on the road, beginning with a match at Middle Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 27. From there, the Blazers travel to Huntington, W.Va., to take on Marshall on Sept. 29.
UAB will then host UTEP and East Carolina in its first of two C-USA home weekends. The Blazers meet the Miners on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. CT and the Pirates on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12:30 p.m. CT. The second home weekend comes on Oct. 25 and 27 when UAB hosts Tulsa and North Texas, respectively.
Five of the Blazers’ final six league games, with FIU (Oct. 13.), at Charlotte (Oct. 18), at Old Dominion (Oct. 20), North Texas (Oct. 27) and at FAU (Oct. 31), will come against teams that are new to Conference USA.
The C-USA Championship is set for November 6-10. The top 10 finishers in the regular season standings will qualify for the single-elimination tournament with the winner of the tournament gaining the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
NEWCOMERS
The Blazers welcome eight newcomers to the 2013 squad.
#4 Sarah Morris (M)................ Nashville, Tenn. (Hume Fogg Academic Magnet)
#12 Kimberly Fincher (F)............................ Lawrenceville, Ga. (Brookwood HS)
#17 Alexandra Lee (D)....................... Flowery Branch, Ga. (Flowery Branch HS)
#18 Sharon Osterbind (F)............................. Jacksonville, Ala. (Jacksonville HS)
#19 Emma Rose (M)................................... Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood HS)
#22 Ann Schmidt (D)...................................... Flowery Branch, Ga. (Buford HS)
#24 Morgan Key-Adams (M)................................ Franklin, Tenn. (Franklin HS)
#25 Skylar Olson (M)............................ Concord, N.C. (Northwest Cabarrus HS)
