Aug. 14, 2009
UABSports.com concludes its two-part season preview of the 2009 women's soccer team. Today's preview features the forward and midfield positions. The Blazers are working towards their first test of the season with an exhibition match at Texas A&M on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. UAB will kick off the regular season on Aug. 21 with a 7 p.m. CT match at Alabama.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - There is no doubt that UAB's biggest strength this season is at forward, with the Blazers' returning every forward from last season's roster. The core of the returnees is led by a trio of sophomores - Laura McCalla, Carolyn Polcari and Tiffini Turpin - who were the Blazers' biggest offensive threats a year ago.
McCalla, Polcari and Turpin combined for 19 of UAB's 27 goals in 2008, as well as 45 of its 70 points. Turpin racked up numerous honors, including SoccerBuzz Freshman All-Region team, C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year, first-team All-C-USA and the league's All-Freshman team after recording a team-best seven goals and two assists for 16 points.
Polcari joined Turpin on the C-USA All-Freshman squad at season's end with six goals, four assists and 16 points. McCalla chipped in six goals and one assist (13 points) as well.
"Tiffini is a special player," said Harbin. "She has taken another step this summer and got great experience by playing with the region team, her club team at nationals and the Boston Renegades in the W-League.
"We're excited for her to come back in this fall. She will be a difficult player for other teams to deal with. A lot of times, there are teams that have one player like Tiffini coming back. We are fortunate to have three, with Laura McCalla and Carolyn Polcari returning for their sophomore seasons as well."
"Tiffini, Laura and Carolyn are young players who all return for us this year. We have three more seasons with them and we are excited about it."
There is some seniority among the forwards in senior Danya Barsalona, who during her three-year career has accumulated 13 goals and seven assists for 33 points.
"Danya is going to be very important for us," said Harbin. "This past spring, she really embraced doing whatever we ask of her, and you can't be a better leader than that.
"Danya has that experience of winning a conference championship as a freshman. She wants to do that again in her senior year and get back to the NCAA Tournament. When you have somebody that has been there before, they can relay that back to the younger players and help them know what they need to do to get to that point."
Also returning at the forward position are junior Morgan Haney and sophomore Allison Young, who have both contributed valuable minutes off the bench in the past and look to move into bigger roles in 2009.
"My hope is that Morgan steps in where she left off in the spring," said Harbin. "This past spring, she really let go and was effective. Morgan is one of our more explosive and quick players and she has a knack for scoring.
"Allison has come a tremendous way in her first year. She may be one of the strongest players, phycially, that we have ever had. She has progressed to the point where she can fill specific roles, but the next step is her getting to the point where she can transition to different positions for us."
The lone newcomer at forward is freshman Stephanie Henderson from Baton Rouge, La. Henderson had a stellar prep career and is someone that Harbin believes can impact this team right away.
"Stephanie is a tremendous athlete," said Harbin. "She's a strong, physical player who can be a dominating player. She has the potential to impact us right away."
The midfield position may have the biggest makeover from a season ago with the departure of seniors Nadine Liverpool and Caitlin Marple at the conclusion of the 2008 campaign.
The lone returning letterwinner is junior Allison Belsterling. The Montgomery, Ala. native has seen limited playing time in her first two years, but scored the first goal of her collegiate career against Rice in `08.
"In the past, Allison has begun to fade away after 10 minutes in a game," said Harbin. "This past spring we challenged her to take the next step and she has had one of the quickest turnarounds that I have seen in a long time. She was in the holding midfield position this spring and played wonderfully."
The Blazers will welcome three new faces to the midfield in freshmen Marlijn Hermans, Heather Shaw and Emma Smith.
"Marlijn has a great soccer mind," said Harbin. "She comes from the Dutch culture where soccer is a huge piece of what they do. I think she will be able to add to the sophistication of our midfield and hopefully can come in and adapt right away.
"Heather has a great competitive spirit. Just like with all of the freshmen every year, it will be up to how quickly she adapts to the college game to see how much of an impact she can make right away, but that potential is definitely there.
"Emma is an exciting player to watch and plays with a lot of flair. She absolutely loves the game and wants to do everything she can to get better."
Although the midfield seems slim in numbers for the Blazers, Harbin uses several different schemes within his system that will allow forwards, as well as defenders, to move into a midfield spot at any time necessary.
