JONESBORO, Ark. (2/4/09) ? Eight student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to continue their soccer careers at Arkansas State, head coach Derek Pittman announced in a press conference Wednesday. All eight athletes are first-time freshmen.
Lucy Brient, Susan Brown, Chelsea Fricke, Jillian Fuerman, Mallory McGilvary, Ashley McMurtry, Emily Mizell and Tory Pitts will all don the scarlet and black for the Red Wolves this fall.
“I want to personally take the time to thank my former assistant coach, Jason Burr (Northern Illinois) and my current assistant coach Lisa Berg, for all the countless hours that they have put into this dynamic recruiting class,” said ASU head coach Derek Pittman.
“We are very excited about the 2009 class of signees because they are a tremendous group of young ladies and talented players. We laid a strong foundation with our 2008 class, which enabled us to really seek out some very dynamic individuals for our 2009 group. There is no doubt that we have done that and are very excited about what this new crop of athletes will bring to our already strong roster. They all possess a strong competitive drive and some much needed speed and athleticism that will mesh well with our returners.”
“This class of 8 players will add a lot of depth and versatility to our roster as we prepare for the 2009 fall season. Each of them will help us finally play the style of soccer that will make us a more competitive team within the Sun Belt Conference. Our returning players are working harder than ever to improve this spring and they all know that we are striving extremely hard to meet our goals for next season. We achieved a lot of new heights in ASU Soccer History this past fall and fully expect next year's team to surpass those records this coming season.”
Arkansas State posted a 4-12-2 record last year but showed improvement by setting records in total points (84), points per game (4.67), assists (28), assists per game (1.56), shot attempts (228), shots per game (12.8), goals allowed (38) and attendance, averaging 249 fans per home date which is an average of 68 more fans than the previous record set in 2007.
2009 Recruiting Class
Name, Position, Height, Hometown/Previous School
Lucy Brient, Forward, 5-8, Franklin, Tenn./Franklin
Susan Brown, Goalkeeper, 5-7, Calgary, Alberta, Canada/William Aberhart
Chelsea Fricke, Defender, 5-7, Dallas, Texas/Plano West
Jillian Fuerman, Midfield/Defender, 5-10, McKinney, Texas/McKinney Boyd
Mallory McGilvray, Midfield, 5-3, Haslet, Texas/Northwest
Ashley McMurtry, Forward/Midfield, 5-9, Plano, Texas/Plano Senior
Emily Mizell, Defender/Midfield, 5-7, Plano, Texas/Plano Senior
Tory Pitts, Forward/Midfield, 5-7, Franklin, Tenn./Franklin Road Academy
CLICK ON THE PDF BELOW FOR 2009 SIGNING CLASS PHOTOS AND BIOS
