NEW ORLEANS – The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll and All-Conference awards were announced on Monday afternoon through the league office. In a poll of the 14 head coaches, Old Dominion midfielder Ece Turkoglu was named to the preseason team.
"To be honest we don't hold much stock on all the pre-season speculation because it is just that, speculation," said ODU Head Coach Angie Hind. "Of course, it's nice for Ece to be recognized as there is no doubt she is a talented player but I get to work with our players every day and think we have quite a lot of them. As is always the case in pre-season, the teams' focus right now is working hard together to be as prepared as we can be for our first non-conference games."
Turkoglu was a captain in 2022 and started every single game amassing almost 1,600 minutes. A very talented midfielder with the ability to make ODU tick, she is also fantastic in the air and defensively plays a big role on the team. She is often the player who makes the pass before the assist. She scored two goals in 2022 against Richmond and Coastal Carolina, along with recording an assist in the win over Marshall. Turkoglu had the decisive PK in the semifinal win over South Alabama as she earned All-Sun Belt Conference and All-Sun Belt Conference Tournament honors. She was also named third team All-Southeast Region by the United Soccer Coaches.
In the team preseason poll, the defending champion Monarchs were picked third behind co-league favorites James Madison and South Alabama.
2023 Sun Belt Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Jasmine Greene, South Alabama (Gr., F, Birmingham, Ala.)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Alexandra Blom, James Madison (R-Sr., GK, Degerfors, Sweden)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
F – Elis Nemstov, Georgia Southern (R- Jr., Bradford, Ontario)
F – Amanda Attanasi, James Madison (Jr., Washington Township, N.J.)
F – Monique Gray, South Alabama (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.)
F – Jasmine Greene, South Alabama (Gr., Birmingham, Ala.)
MF – Elena Diaz, Georgia State (Sr., Madrid, Spain.)
MF – Lexi Vanderlinden, James Madison (Sr., Seminole, Fla.)
MF – Ece Turkoglu, Old Dominion (Gr., Istanbul, Turkey)
D – Sade Heinrichs, Georgia Southern (Sr., Monchengladbach, Germany)
D – Eva Diez Lois, Georgia State (Gr., Santander, Spain)
D – Brittany Munson, James Madison (R-Sr., Merrick, N.Y.
D – Gabriela Angulo, South Alabama (So., La Guaira, Vargas, Venezuela)
D – Abby Jacobs, South Alabama (Gr., Pensacola, Fla.)
GK – Alexandra Blom, James Madison (R-Sr., Degerfors, Sweden)
*Ties were not broken
2023 Sun Belt Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
T1. James Madison (5) – 179 points
T1. South Alabama (3) – 179 points
3. Old Dominion (4) – 177 points
4. Georgia Southern (2) – 153 points
5. Texas State – 132 points
6. Georgia State – 124 points
7. Arkansas State – 120 points
8. App State – 88 points
9. Marshall – 76 points
10. Coastal Carolina – 61 points
T11. Louisiana – 47 points
T11. ULM – 47 points
13. Southern Miss – 45 points
14. Troy – 42 points
Turkoglu Named To Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
