Aponte, Garcia Tabbed with Preseason All-Conference Honors

Spartanburg, S.C. – Juniors Vanessa Aponte and Mariana Garcia were named to the 2012 women's soccer preseason all-conference team by the coaches of the Southern Conference on Wednesday. The Citadel, along with Furman and Samford, are the only teams to place more than one athlete on the squad.

Garcia, who was also named to the 2011 preseason all-conference team, closed out the 2011 campaign with seven goals, four assists, 18 points and 71 shots.  Entering just her third season, the Bogota, Colombia, native currently holds the school record in gamewinners with nine and sits fourth all-time in goals with 17, fourth in points with 39 and fifth in shots with 124.

Aponte is coming off an historic sophomore season in 2011 when she earned first team all-conference honors.  She led the conference in shots with 83, a Bulldog record, and led the team in goals with eight and points with 19. The Orlando, Fla., native is on pace to smash the program's shots record, sitting just 30 shy of the mark.

"Mariana and Vanessa are without a doubt two of the best players in the league," said Bulldog head coach Bob Winch. "They both work extremely hard, play good soccer and are exciting to watch."

The Bulldogs were ranked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll receiving 44 points. Samford was selected by the Southern Conference's women's soccer head coaches to repeat as league champion in 2012.

2012 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Samford (10)                                  120
2. College of Charleston (1)               106
3. Furman (1)                                      97
4. UNCG                                               88
5. Davidson                                        80
6. Elon                                                77
7. Georgia Southern                          53
8. Western Carolina                          50
9. The Citadel                                   44
10. Appalachian State                       37
11. Wofford                                       28
12. Chattanooga                               12

() denotes first-place votes

F       Vanessa Aponte, The Citadel
F       Becca Fisher, Davidson
F       Martha Hall, Furman
F       Becca Smith, Chattanooga
MF    Sarah Schaidle, College of Charleston
MF    Mariana Garcia, The Citadel
MF    Michelle Moll, Samford
D       Ali Simpson, Furman
D       Cat Barnekow, UNCG
D       Sabbath McKiernan-Allen, Samford
GK    Kate Murphy, Elon

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