Thursday, August 18, 2011

MACON, Ga. - The 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference women's soccer season begins on Friday with nine of the ten teams in action on opening day with six home or neutral games.

• The A-Sun went a combined 7-2-3 in exhibition play to warm up for the season. The league combined to outscore its opponents 30-9 with a combined six shutouts. Stetson led the way with two wins with a combined score of 9-0, while defending regular season champions, FGCU, joined ETSU, Jacksonville, USC Upstate and Belmont in picking up wins.

• Two players recorded hat tricks in the preseason by tallying three goals in a game. Stetson's Alexis Hermosa, a preseason all-conference selection, netted three goals against Webber International on Aug. 16th; the same day that USC Upstate freshman Michelle Calmeyn found the back of the net thrice against Spartanburg Methodist. Two other players had multiple-goal games as Stetson's Samantha Snyder added two against Webber International and FGCU's Kayley Clay registered two against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 13.

• Along with Calmeyn, four other freshman tallied goals in the preseason. ETSU's duo of Jenna Claude and Taylor Maxson netted goals in a 2-0 win at Presbyterian College. Belmont's Allie Hicks and Rachel Schmidt both found the net in a 5-0 against Tennessee Wesleyan. Last year, North Florida's Lauren Hopfensperger led the league in goals as a freshman with 10, while fellow freshman Courtney Conrad from Jacksonville tied for second with eight goals.

• In the opening weekend of play, the A-Sun faces opponents from 10 different conferences. A-Sun teams face three from both the Big South and Sun Belt Conferences with two games set for a showdown with the Atlantic 10, Southern and Ohio Valley. More notably, the A-Sun also has games scheduled against the Southeastern and Big East Conferences.

• In total, 18 contests will be played this weekend with 10 taking place at home or neutral fields. FGCU and North Florida both host tournaments in the opening weekend with the Eagles squaring off with Eastern Washington and Syracuse on Friday and Sunday in the Embassy Suites Kick-off Classic, while the Ospreys welcome Coastal Carolina and Charlotte to Hodges Stadium for the UNF Tournament, which Jacksonville will also play in. Seven teams will play two games in the opening weekend with ETSU, Mercer and USC Upstate only playing one game to kick off the season.

• Jacksonville and North Florida face the same opponents in opening play with Charlotte and Coastal Carolina. Both the 49ers and Chanticleers earned a share of their conference regular-season titles in 2010, but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

• Preseason Player and Defensive Player of the Year, KC Correllus of FGCU enters the 2011 season with a chance to become the first A-Sun student-athlete to win two Defensive Player of the Year awards and the third to claim back-to-back Player of the Year honors. In 2010, she became the first player to win both the Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

• Two schools start the 2011 season with new head coaches running its program. Adam Sayers takes over at ETSU after previously spending time at USF and Middle Tennessee State. Belmont Head Coach Heather Henson comes to the Bruins after 12 seasons at the helm of the Lady Bucs women's soccer program.

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