FRISCO, Texas – Prior to the start of the 2018 soccer season, three Bearkats – Carlota Suarez Crespo, Carly English and Taylor Pritchard – represented Sam Houston State on the Preseason All-Conference Team, announced by the Southland Conference office on Wednesday.

Suarez Crespo picked up first-team honors while English and Pritchard were named to the second team.

“I think all three of the players are very deserving of this recognition,” head coach Tom Brown said. “Carlota had a terrific first year and scored a lot of goals for us. She had a big impact in helping to turn our program around. Carly and Taylor also played integral roles in our matches and they put in a lot of minutes throughout the season.”

An All-SLC second-teamer in 2017, Suarez Crespo started 13 of 18 matches in her first season with the Kats and led the squad with eight goals and 18 points. She also paced the team with 49 shots and 25 shots on goal. The Madrid Spain, native scored her first SHSU goal in the Kats' season opener against CSU Bakersfield on Aug. 18 and recorded a season-high two goals and four points at home against Jackson State on Aug. 24.

Suarez Crespo finished the 2017 season with three game-winning goals and ranked fourth in the league in points.

English made her defensive presence known on the Kats' back line. She tallied 11 starts in her first season at SHSU and put in a total of 967 minutes on the pitch. English recorded a season-high three points at Abilene Christian after picking up one goal and one assist. She netted the game-winning goal in the Kats' 4-3 victory over CSU Bakersfield and fired off her final goal of the season on Nov. 1 against Stephen F. Austin.

A prominent member of the SHSU offense, Taylor Pritchard made 16 starts in 18 appearances for the Kats in 2017. She recorded her first goal of the season at SMU on Aug. 31 and picked up another goal at Lamar on Sept. 29. She collected one assist at Northwestern State and netted her final goal of the season at UIW on Oct. 22. Pritchard finished the season with a .621 shots on goal percentage and racked up 1,272 minutes on the pitch.

The Kats are set to close out exhibition action Friday evening with a 7 p.m. contest at Baylor. Live stats will be available for the match. For all the latest information on the Sam Houston State soccer team, visit gobearkats.com or follow @BearkatsSOC on Twitter.

Preseason All-Conference First Team

Preseason All-Conference Second Team

*Automatic selection – Returning 2017 all-conference member