Monday, August 01, 2011

MACON, Ga. – Ten seniors adorn the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason team with FGCU, the defending regular season champions, leading the way with three selections to the squad. The Eagles also picked up the top spot in the Preseason Coaches Poll with six first-place votes, while senior defender KC Correllus copied last season as she corralled Preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Correllus was one of three unanimous choices to preseason team, which included Mercer’s Olivia Tucker, the 2010 A-Sun Championship Most Valuable Player, and North Florida’s Lauren Hopfensperger, the A-Sun’s top goal scorer with 10 last season.

FGCU’s Stephanie Powers and Olivia Elias joined Correllus on the team as the Eagles were also selected to win the 2011 A-Sun Championship. The Eagles’ goal keeper, Powers led the league in goals against average with a miniscule 0.53, which ranked ninth nationally. Her nine shutouts tied for first in the A-Sun.

Jacksonville, the host of the 2010 Championship, placed two student-athletes on the team with seniors Liz Fink and Jessica Hurtado and landed in the two-spot on the coaches ballot. Fink finished the 2010 season ranked second in assists (7), third in points (21) and fourth in goals (7), while Hurtado dished out four assists.

Mercer, the 2010 A-Sun Championship victors, enter the season expected to finish third after garnering one first-place vote. Tucker, a senior midfielder, joins Hurtado and Correllus for a chance to become four-time A-Sun All-Conference selections after earning the honors in each of the past three seasons. Only six former A-Sun student-athletes have achieved the feat.

Kennesaw State tied with the Dolphins with two named to the team. Senior forwards Brittany Vining and Alyssa Mahan both graced the team after combining for seven goals and 25 points in 2010. Mahan ranked second in the conference with seven assists, while Vining totaled three goals and four assists. The Owls were picked to finish fourth this season and earned two first-place tallies.

North Florida wrapped up the top-five coming off its first appearance in the A-Sun Women’s Soccer Championship last season. Hopfensperger, the lone non-senior elected to the team, tied for the league lead with four game-winning goals as a freshman in 2010.

Stetson and Belmont followed the Ospreys in the poll with both squads landing one student-athlete on the team with Belmont’s Gretchen Sutch and Stetson’s Alexis Hermosa both making the team as defenders. ETSU, Lipscomb and USC Upstate finished up the coaches preseason poll.

The 2011 A-Sun Women’s Soccer Championship will be hosted by the regular season champions on November 4-6th with the first round games to be played on October 29th on campus sites.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I league with 10 member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.