NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women’s soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the 2018 Conference USA Preseason Poll and Iris Achterhof was named to C-USA Preseason Team as voted on by league head coaches.
The 2017 season (9-5-4, 6-2-2 C-USA) went down as the best ever in the C-USA for the Monarchs and the program’s best overall season since 2008. Last year’s conference tournament marked the third straight appearance for Old Dominion (top eight of 14 teams qualify).
Head coach Angie Hind returns 18 players, while adding 11 newcomers to this season’s roster. ODU returns 77% of its points scored, 73% of its goals scored and 85% of its assists from last year.
As a freshman, Achterhof led the Monarchs with 21 points (eight goals) and was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year, as well as garnered All-Conference Second Team honors. For the second straight season as a sophomore, she led the team in points (11) and goals (4), as well as led the team in assists (3) and game-winning goals (3). She was an All-Conference USA Third Team honoree in 2016. Last season as a junior, she was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team, as she led the team in points with 17 and tied the team-high for assists with seven (third most in Conference USA), as well as goals with five. Achterhof was also named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I All-South Region Team in 2017.
2018 C-USA Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
- Rice (10)
- North Texas (3)
- Charlotte
- Old Dominion
- Florida Atlantic
- UAB
- Louisiana Tech
- Middle Tennessee
- WKU
- UTEP
- Marshall
- Southern Miss (1)
- UTSA
- Florida International
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