PROVO -- The BYU women's soccer team announced its recruiting class for 2004 on Monday with eight athletes signing national letters of intent to play for the Cougars.
The Cougars bring in a balanced class of midfielders, forwards, defenders and one of the top keepers in the west region.
"I would say that theses players are as equally talented and experienced to any of the classes we have previously signed," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "You never know what is going to happen until they step on the field during pre-season training, but we have very high expectations and feel they that they will make a very positive impact on our team next fall. "
This year's class shows big potential with two athletes coming from two of the top club teams in the country, midfielder Amanda Draeger of Huntington Beach, Calif., comes to BYU from the Southern Cal Blues and keeper Erika Woodbury of Murrieta, Calif., plays for the San Diego Surf.
Of the eight athletes committed to BYU, five of them are Utah natives, four of which play on the same club team, the Inter FC.
"Our program has always had a lot of success from the local talent here in Utah and this season is no exception," said Rockwood.
Coming to BYU from the Utah programs are Alison Haymond, Natalie Nate, Stephanie Staples, Carolyn Swenson and Whitney Urrutia.
All five girls are All-State and All-Region athletes, Urrutia is a former 5A Player of the Year and member of the 86 ODP Region IV Team, Haymond is the Region 3 MVP and Staples is the only Utahn to be named a NSCAA Academic All-Region.
Draeger, Woodbury and Lacey Pearson of Pocatello, Idaho, are All-Region selections with Woodbury being one of only 38 high school athletes in the country to be named an NSCAA Scholar All-American.
"These girls are really excited to attend BYU, not just to be on the soccer team but I think more importantly they are anxious to become apart of the BYU student body, and experience all the great things our school has to offer." said Rockwood. "Those are the type of players we are excited to have join us and it is those players who have been the most successful in our program over the years."
? g is a list of incoming recruits and a short bio on each of them.
Amanda Draeger - Midfielder -- Huntington Beach, CA - Edison High School
CIF Division I Champions 02 - Sunset League Champions 01,02 -- 1st Team All
League 02, 2nd Team All-CIF 02 - Sr. year in progress -- Scholar-Athlete Award
02 -- Academic Booster Award 01, 02, 03 - National Youth Character Award 03 -
Character Coalition Award 02, 03 - HS letters in Volleyball, Basketball, and
Track -- State Cup Champions 02 - GPA 3.5
Club: Southern Cal Blues
Alison Haymond - Defender -- Salt Lake City, UT - Skyline High School
5A HS State Finalist 02 - 5A State Champions 01 - Team Captain -- 1st Team
All-State Deseret News/Salt Lake Tribune 02- Region 3 MVP - Utah ODP Team -
ODP Region IV Pool 01
Club: Firebirds/Inter FC
Natalie Nate -- Midfielder -- Salt Lake City, UT - Brighton High School
Team MVP -- 1st Team All-State - 1st Team All-Region - High School Achievement
Award - Honor Roll -- Utah ODP Team - ODP Region IV Camp - State Cup Champions
02 -- State Cup MVP - GPA 3.77
Club: Inter FC
Lacey Pearson - Midfield/Forward -- Pocatello, ID
1st Team All-Region, 4yrs, -- Region MVP 03 - Team Captain - Outstanding
Student-Athlete Award - All-Region Basketball & Tennis
GPA 3.6
Club: PVSC SC United
Stephanie Staples - Defender -- Sandy, UT - Alta High School
5A State Champions 2002 - 5A Region Champions 00, 02, 03 - Alta HS Ranked #3
Nationally NSCAA 03 - 1st Team All-State - 1st Team All-Region -Team Captain -
NSCAA Academic All-Region - National Honors Society - High Honor Roll --
Citizenship Honors -- State Cup Champions 00, 01, 02, 03 - Region IV Finalists
02 - Team Defensive MVP, Tournament MVP - GPA 3.89
Club: Celtic Storm/Avalache
Carolyn Swenson - Forward -- Fruit Heights, UT - Davis High School
1st Team All-State Salt Lake Tribune 02 - 1st Team All-Region All-area- 1st
Team All-State Track - Student Govt. - Honor Roll -- State Cup Champions 02 -
State Cup Champions 02 -- GPA 3.59
Club: Inter FC
Whitney Urrutia - Defender -- Sandy, UT - Alta High School
5A State Champions 2002 - 5A Region Champions 00, 02, 03 - Alta HS Ranked #3
Nationally NSCAA 03 -5A Player of the Year 02 - 1st Team All-State 01,02,03 -
1st Team All-Region - Region Defensive MVP 01, 02, 03 - 86 ODP Region IV Team -
National Camp 02, 03 - Utah ODP -- State Cup Champion 03
Club: Inter FC
Erika Woodbury - Goalie -- Murrieta, CA - Murrieta Valley High School
1st Team All-CIF - 1st Team All-League - All-Valley Player of the Year - Team
MVP - Team Captain - Sr. year still in progress -- NSCAA All-Academic Team 02,
03 - League Scholastic Team - All-CIF Scholastic Team -- Honor Roll - So Cal
ODP Team - Region IV Camp -- Surf Cup MVP Award 02 - Surf Club Goalie of the
Year 02 - Coast League Premier Champions 02, 03 - State Cup Champions 03
GPA 4.0
Club: San Diego Surf