Aug. 10, 2004

Irving, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs have been selected by the Conference USA coaches to finish sixth in the upcoming soccer season. The Frogs were one of the top teams in the conference last season, finishing tied for second with a 7-3-0 mark in conference play. The Frogs qualified for their first-ever Conference USA Tournament last season and look to make it two in a row in 2004. Jessi Moore, a 2003 second-team all-conference performer, was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA squad. The senior forward led TCU's turnaround season with a 9-8-2 record and a No. 2 seed in the C-USA Tournament. She ranked second on the 2003 squad with 15 points, scoring six goals and tallying three assists. UAB, the 2003 Conference USA regular season champion, has been selected to win the 2004 C-USA championship by the league's 14 coaches. Junior midfielder/forward Julianne Sitch of DePaul was named the Preseason Player of the Year after earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2003. The Blazers, led by 2003 C-USA Coach of the Year Paul Harbi, compiled a 13-5-1 overall record, 8-2 in conference play, last season on the way to their first C-USA women's soccer championship. Harbin returns first-team All-Conference USA and second-team All-America defender Briana McCarty and first-team all-C-USA forward Tara Kidwell, both of who were selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Saint Louis was picked second in the coaches' vote, followed by DePaul as third. Both teams tallied a conference-best 14 wins last season. Senior Billiken Jamie Perry earned a spot of the Preseason All-Conference USA Team and her squad will host the 2004 Conference USA Tournament. Marquette has been tabbed to finish fourth in the league this season. The Golden Eagles will be seeking their fifth NCAA Tournament bid in six years and their first regular-season and tournament crowns since 2000. Rounding out the Preseason All-Conference Team are USF's Breck Bankester, Louisville's Jamie Craft, Houston's Nikki Hawkins, Memphis' Yuiko Konno and Nicky McLeod and East Carolina's Megan McCallion. The top eight finishers in the regular season earn a spot in the Conference USA Tournament, November 3-6 in St. Louis. The league's tenth season begins Friday, August 27. 2004 C-USA Preseason Awards
Player of the Year
Julianne Sitch, Jr., MF/F, DePaul
All-Conference
Breck Bankester, Sr., GK, USF
Jamie Craft, So., F, Louisville
Nikki Hawkins, Sr., MF, Houston
Tara Kidwell, Sr., F, UAB
Yuiko Konno, Sr., F, Memphis
Megan McCallion, Jr., F, East Carolina
Briana McCarty, Sr., D, UAB
Nicky McLeod, Jr., MF, Memphis
Jessi Moore, Sr., F, TCU
Jamie Perry, Sr., F, Saint Louis
Julianne Sitch, Jr., MF/F, DePaul
2004 C-USA Preseason Poll
(as selected by C-USA coaches)
1. UAB
2. Saint Louis
3. DePaul
4. Marquette
5. Charlotte
6. TCU
7. Cincinnati
8. Memphis
9. East Carolina
10. USF
11. Tulane
12. Houston
13. Louisville
14. Southern Miss