Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com
Women’s Soccer’s Blomqvist Chosen Preseason All-C-USA
8/6/2018 6:56:00 PM | Women's Soccer
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Rising senior midfielder/defender Ebba Blomqvist was honored as Preseason All-Conference USA, and the Florida Atlantic University women's soccer squad was voted fifth in the coaches' poll, as released by the league on Monday.
Blomqvist starred in her first year, leading the Owls in goals despite primarily playing in the defensive backfield for the majority of the season. She moved to midfield later in the year, including in postseason play.
"I am honored to be recognized, and excited for this upcoming season," said Blomqvist. "We have had a great start to the preseason, and everybody feels motivated and inspired to reach new goals throughout these next couple of months."
"Our players and staff are excited for Ebba to receive preseason C-USA recognition," added Head Coach Patrick Baker. "She proved to be one of the top players in the conference and region last year, and is looking to have a great senior season. Ebba has come in fit and is playing at a high level, and her class looks to become the first in over 10 years to be a part of four straight winning seasons."
The squad, aside from a preseason scrimmage, is a little over a week's away from hitting the field. Opening Night takes place in FAU Stadium, the on-campus football facility, hosting Miami on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.
Each of the last three seasons, the team has achieved an above-.500 C-USA mark, and advanced to the league's postseason tournament. Two years ago, the Owls advanced to the championship, and last season, posted an upset to advance to the semifinal round.
Rice was voted first in the poll, receiving 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). They were followed by North Texas, and Charlotte and Old Dominion were the other two teams to precede the Owls.
"Our 2018 squad is excited to start the fall campaign and they appreciate being considered one of the top teams in Conference USA this fall," said Baker. "We know the C-USA season will bring tremendous challenges and it appears everyone got remarkably better. The schedule allows three new opponents on our schedule; we add UTSA, North Texas and Louisiana Tech, while Charlotte, WKU and UTEP all come off with the new rotation. The quest is to challenge for the 2018 regular season title and the C-USA Tournament championship in November. We like our returning group a lot, and we have a number of impactful newcomers that will help raise our overall this year."
Here is the full poll and preseason individual honorees:
2018 C-USA Women's Soccer Preseason Poll (First-Place Votes)
1. Rice (10)
2. North Texas (3)
3. Charlotte
4. Old Dominion
5. Florida Atlantic
6. UAB
7. Louisiana Tech
8. Middle Tennessee
9. WKU
10. UTEP
11. Marshall
12. Southern Miss (1)
13. UTSA
14. FIU
2018 C-USA Women's Soccer Preseason Team
Megan Greene, Charlotte, Jr., F
Ebba Blomqvist, Florida Atlantic, Sr., D/MF
Nomvula Kgoale, Louisiana Tech, Sr., D
*Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee, So., F
^Dominique James, North Texas, Jr., D
Iris Achterhof, Old Dominion, Sr., F
Maya Hoyer, Rice, Jr., GK
Annie Walker, Rice, Sr., F
Ola Akinniyi, Southern Miss, Sr., D/F
Kelsey Daugherty, UAB, Sr., GK
Victoria Bohdan, UTEP, So., F
*Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
^Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Blomqvist starred in her first year, leading the Owls in goals despite primarily playing in the defensive backfield for the majority of the season. She moved to midfield later in the year, including in postseason play.
"I am honored to be recognized, and excited for this upcoming season," said Blomqvist. "We have had a great start to the preseason, and everybody feels motivated and inspired to reach new goals throughout these next couple of months."
"Our players and staff are excited for Ebba to receive preseason C-USA recognition," added Head Coach Patrick Baker. "She proved to be one of the top players in the conference and region last year, and is looking to have a great senior season. Ebba has come in fit and is playing at a high level, and her class looks to become the first in over 10 years to be a part of four straight winning seasons."
The squad, aside from a preseason scrimmage, is a little over a week's away from hitting the field. Opening Night takes place in FAU Stadium, the on-campus football facility, hosting Miami on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.
Each of the last three seasons, the team has achieved an above-.500 C-USA mark, and advanced to the league's postseason tournament. Two years ago, the Owls advanced to the championship, and last season, posted an upset to advance to the semifinal round.
Rice was voted first in the poll, receiving 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). They were followed by North Texas, and Charlotte and Old Dominion were the other two teams to precede the Owls.
"Our 2018 squad is excited to start the fall campaign and they appreciate being considered one of the top teams in Conference USA this fall," said Baker. "We know the C-USA season will bring tremendous challenges and it appears everyone got remarkably better. The schedule allows three new opponents on our schedule; we add UTSA, North Texas and Louisiana Tech, while Charlotte, WKU and UTEP all come off with the new rotation. The quest is to challenge for the 2018 regular season title and the C-USA Tournament championship in November. We like our returning group a lot, and we have a number of impactful newcomers that will help raise our overall this year."
Here is the full poll and preseason individual honorees:
2018 C-USA Women's Soccer Preseason Poll (First-Place Votes)
1. Rice (10)
2. North Texas (3)
3. Charlotte
4. Old Dominion
5. Florida Atlantic
6. UAB
7. Louisiana Tech
8. Middle Tennessee
9. WKU
10. UTEP
11. Marshall
12. Southern Miss (1)
13. UTSA
14. FIU
2018 C-USA Women's Soccer Preseason Team
Megan Greene, Charlotte, Jr., F
Ebba Blomqvist, Florida Atlantic, Sr., D/MF
Nomvula Kgoale, Louisiana Tech, Sr., D
*Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee, So., F
^Dominique James, North Texas, Jr., D
Iris Achterhof, Old Dominion, Sr., F
Maya Hoyer, Rice, Jr., GK
Annie Walker, Rice, Sr., F
Ola Akinniyi, Southern Miss, Sr., D/F
Kelsey Daugherty, UAB, Sr., GK
Victoria Bohdan, UTEP, So., F
*Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
^Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Players Mentioned
D/M
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