Albuquerque, Furuto, Piper Earn AAC Preseason Watch List Honors, Owls Picked Fourth in AAC West
8/14/2023 11:02:00 AM | Women's Soccer
IRVING – Three Owls earned preseason accolades as Catarina Albuquerque, Mikala Furuto and Sarah Piper were all named to the 2023 American Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Watch List. In addition to the watch list, the AAC also announced the 2023 preseason polls, with the Owls selected to finish fourth in the AAC West division.
Last season Albuquerque played in all 20 matches with 19 starts, finishing fourth on the team in total minutes with 1603. Albuquerque played all 90 minutes seven times last year while playing at least 80 minutes 13 times. She recorded eight shots on the season with five on goal and recorded her only point on the season as an assist on the game-winning goal at Charlotte (10/16).
Furuto was one of five players to start in all 20 matches last season and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors. She had 10 shots on the year with an .800 shots on goal percentage. She set career-highs with two goals and four points in the Owls win over Incarnate Word (8/28).
Piper joined the Owls this season as a graduate transfer after spending her first four seasons at Duke. She appeared in nine matches last season on the defensive side and played a season-high 39 minutes in a 4-0 win over Charlotte. Piper had two shots on the season with one being on goal.
Memphis was selected as the overall favorite for the AAC title, with SMU finishing second. Memphis, SMU and North Texas rounded out the top three spots in the west division, with Rice, UTSA and Tulsa in the bottom three spots. South Florida was the favorite in the east division, followed by UAB, Florida Atlantic, ECU, Charlotte and Temple
The Owls open the 2023 season on Thursday at Incarnate Word at 6 p.m.
Preseason Polls
American Championship
Last season Albuquerque played in all 20 matches with 19 starts, finishing fourth on the team in total minutes with 1603. Albuquerque played all 90 minutes seven times last year while playing at least 80 minutes 13 times. She recorded eight shots on the season with five on goal and recorded her only point on the season as an assist on the game-winning goal at Charlotte (10/16).
Furuto was one of five players to start in all 20 matches last season and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors. She had 10 shots on the year with an .800 shots on goal percentage. She set career-highs with two goals and four points in the Owls win over Incarnate Word (8/28).
Piper joined the Owls this season as a graduate transfer after spending her first four seasons at Duke. She appeared in nine matches last season on the defensive side and played a season-high 39 minutes in a 4-0 win over Charlotte. Piper had two shots on the season with one being on goal.
Memphis was selected as the overall favorite for the AAC title, with SMU finishing second. Memphis, SMU and North Texas rounded out the top three spots in the west division, with Rice, UTSA and Tulsa in the bottom three spots. South Florida was the favorite in the east division, followed by UAB, Florida Atlantic, ECU, Charlotte and Temple
The Owls open the 2023 season on Thursday at Incarnate Word at 6 p.m.
Preseason Polls
American Championship
| Team | Points |
| Memphis | 11 |
| SMU | 1 |
| West Division | |
| Team | Points |
| Memphis (11) | 61 |
| SMU (1) | 50 |
| North Texas | 35 |
| Rice | 30 |
| UTSA | 23 |
| Tulsa | 17 |
| East Division | |
| Team | Points |
| South Florida (11) | 61 |
| UAB (1) | 40 |
| Florida Atlantic | 39 |
| East Carolina | 35 |
| Charlotte | 29 |
| Temple | 12 |
Players Mentioned
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