IRVING, Texas – Memphis has been named the favorite in American Athletic Conference women’s soccer preseason coaches’ poll. The Tigers earned seven out nine first-place votes for a total of 63 points.
UCF earned one first-place vote and was picked second with 52 points, one point ahead of defending tournament champion USF. SMU earned the final first-place vote and was selected fourth with 48 points, followed by Cincinnati (35), Houston (28), East Carolina (23), Temple (12) and Tulsa (12).
Memphis senior forward Clarissa Larisey was unanimously selected as The American’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Larisey was a second-team United Soccer Coaches All-America selection and The American’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 after scoring a team-high 16 goals and four assists.
Fellow Tiger senior Elizabeth Moberg was picked as The American’s Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year after posting a 16-2-1 record with 10 shutouts in 2019. Moberg was named the 2019 league Goalkeeper of the Year and was a United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team member.
USF senior defender Chyanne Dennis was tabbed The American’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after starting 20 games in 2019, while aiding the Bull defense to seven shutouts and limiting opposing offenses to 3.7 shots on goal per game.
Eleven of the 13 members of the league’s Preseason All-Conference Team were selected to either the first or second All-Conference Teams in 2019. Memphis led all schools with four selections, while UCF, Cincinnati and USF each had two.
Preseason Coaches Poll
| 1 |
Memphis (7) |
63 |
| 2 |
UCF (1) |
52 |
| 3 |
USF |
51 |
| 4 |
SMU (1) |
48 |
| 5 |
Cincinnati |
35 |
| 6 |
Houston |
28 |
| 7 |
East Carolina |
23 |
| 8 |
Temple |
12 |
| |
Tulsa |
12 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
Offensive Player of the Year
Clarissa Larisey, Sr., F, Memphis*
Defensive Player of the Year
Chyanne Dennis, Sr., D, USF
Goalkeeper of the Year
Elizabeth Moberg, Sr., GK, Memphis
Preseason All-Conference Team
Ellie Moreno, So., M, UCF
Kristen Scott, Jr., F, UCF
Ashley Barron, So., D, Cincinnati
Sophie Gorman, Sr., M/F, Cincinnati
Kim Sanford, Sr., D, ECU
Jazmin Grant, Sr., F, Houston
Tanya Boychuk, Jr., M/F, Memphis
Mya Jones, So., M/F, Memphis*
Clarissa Larisey, , Sr., F, Memphis*
Elizabeth Moberg, Sr., GK, Memphis
Chyanne Dennis, Sr., D, USF
Sydny Nasello, Jr., F, USF
Celiana Torres, Jr., M, SMU*
* denotes unanimous selection