Marin Named Best In SBC History

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Soccer: Marin named best in Sun Belt history

North Texas picked first in preseason rankings

09:02 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 24, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Marilyn Marin added one last honor to her already impressive resume on Tuesday when the Sun Belt Conference announced its 30th anniversary soccer team.

Marilyn Marin

A media panel is selecting the top 30 players in each sport the conference sponsors and named the former North Texas standout the all-time best player in league history.

The team was released in conjunction with the all-conference team and preseason coaches’ poll. UNT was named the favorite to repeat as Sun Belt champion.

“Marilyn deserves it,” UNT head coach John Hedlund said. “She has been the best player who has ever walked through the door at North Texas. She was a huge asset on the field and helped take our program to another level.”

Marin arrived at UNT when the program was still in its infancy and helped build it into a Sun Belt Conference power. Along the way, she also established herself as one of the top players in the history of college soccer before completing her career in 2003.

Marin ranks in the top 10 in NCAA history in career points (214, tied for 10th), goals (88, eighth), points per game (2.70, tied for seventh) and goals per game (1.11, tied for eighth).

Marin led the nation in points (67), goals (26), and points per game (3.53) in 2002.

Hedlund said that if a women’s professional league still existed, Marin would be playing in it. The WUSA was disbanded in 2003.

Marin is playing in semiprofessional leagues while waiting for another league to form.

Melinda Pina and Caree Ridenour also were named to the squad, an honor based in part on their performance while leading the Mean Green to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in team history last season.

Pina was a three-time first-team all-conference selection who ranks second to Marin in UNT history with 51 goals and 122 points.

Ridenour was a first-team all-conference and all-region player her senior season.

Hedlund was surprised that the league’s coaches named UNT the favorite for the Sun Belt title after the Mean Green lost both Pina and Ridenour after last season.

“This is by far the youngest team I have had here,” Hedlund said. “Of our 22 players, 11 are freshmen. The only reason I can think of that we were voted No. 1 is that people think I brought in a lot of good players.”

UNT returns one of the top players in the conference in Heather Hutyra, who was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team. The sophomore posted six goals and 17 points last season to earn Freshman of the Year honors in the league.

Hutyra and the rest of the Mean Green’s players will have a tough act to follow this season after UNT’s success of the last few years. That legacy became even more impressive on Tuesday when Marin was named the best of the Sun Belt.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

SBC PRESEASON POLL

Team Points

1. North Texas (5) 92

2. Denver (3) 89

3. Middle Tennessee (2) 87

4. Florida International 64

5. Western Kentucky 56

6. South Alabama 51

7. Louisiana-Lafayette 42

8. Arkansas State 31

9. Arkansas-Little Rock 20

10. Troy 18

— first-place votes in parentheses