Nemtsov, Heinrichs Earn Sun Belt Women's Soccer Preseason Honors
8/8/2022 2:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Eagles place a pair on the preseason squad; GS picked fourth in the East Division in the coaches' preseason poll
STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer forward Elis Nemtsov and defender Sade Heinrichs each earned a spot on the 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, announced today by the league.
The 2022 Sun Belt Women's Soccer Preseason Awards release also included the preseason coaches' poll, where the Eagles were picked to finish fourth in the East division.
Nemtsov earns one of the four forward spots after scoring eight goals and notching one assist for 17 points as a redshirt freshman for the Eagles in 2021, earning first-team All-Conference honors. She ranked sixth in the Sun Belt in goals, seventh in points and was a two-time Offensive Player of the Week honoree. The Bradford, Ontario native also had a busy summer, helping Statesboro-based Tormenta to the USL WLeague Championship in its first season of competition.
Heinrichs, meanwhile, earns one of four defender spots after anchoring a back line for the Eagles that sported a 1.04 team GAA and recorded seven shutouts. She played every minute in 19 of 22 games last year and earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors as well as Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors. The Monchengladbach, Germany, native was a second-team All-Conference performer as a sophomore.
This is the first time the Eagles have placed a pair of players on the preseason All-Sun Belt squad since 2015, when Nora El-Shami and Melinda Lukas earned preseason All-Sun Belt honors.
The Eagles, who tied for third in the 2021 regular season standings, were picked fourth in the East Division of the new-look Sun Belt standings. The addition of four new teams means the Sun Belt is split into East and West divisions for 2022. Newcomer Old Dominion received 94 points and 10 first-place votes as the Monarchs were picked to top the division. Fellow newcomer James Madison (74 points, 1 first-place vote) was picked second in the East, followed by Georgia State (72 points, 3 first-place votes) and the Eagles (62 points). Coastal Carolina (39), Marshall (26) and Appalachian State (25) round out the East division picks.
The West division is led by defending conference champion South Alabama (96 points, 12 first-place votes). Arkansas State (68 points, 2 first-place votes) is picked second, followed by Southern Miss (68), ULM (57), Texas State (54), Louisiana (27) and Troy (22).
Georgia Southern is in action tonight, traveling to Auburn to take on the Tigers in a 7:30 p.m. exhibition contest from Auburn, Ala. The Eagles will host Charleston Southern in an exhibition contest on Saturday, August 13, at 2 p.m. before opening up the 2022 regular season on Thursday, August 18, at Georgia.
