Alabama Soccer Adds 16 Players for the 2007 Season
2/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Tuscaloosa, Ala.- University of Alabama soccer coach Don Staley announced today that six athletes have signed their National Letter of Intent to join the Tide soccer team for the 2007 season. An addition 10 players have also earned spots on to play for the Tide this fall.
“This recruiting class caps off a significant amount of hard work by our coaching staff,” head coach Don Staley said. “I feel that we have addressed not only individual needs but depth, an area that hurt us last season. This class should help propel us into a successful 2007 season.”
The Tide played the better part of the 2006 with injured players and other players out of their natural position due to injuries. Coach Staley wanted to make sure his team was not in that situation for the 2007 season with a stellar recruiting class.
Justine Bernier is a goalkeeper from Ontario, Canada. The 5’10 keeper is currently a member of the U-18 Canadian National Team and the Toronto Lady Lynx in the W-League, where she was the 2006 Goalkeeper of the Year and first team All-W-League. The W-League is a mixture of professional and amateur athletes and is considered the highest ranking league available for women.
Bernier has previously played for the U-17 Canadian National Team, U-16 Canadian National Team, and the St. Catharines Jets. Current Alabama players Haley MacDonald and Rosaly Petriello also played for the Jets where they were coached by Jim Craig and his staff. She is a member of the National Training Centre of Ontario, Ontario U-16 Provincial Team, and the Ontario Canada Games team. She earned a gold medal at the T. Dunleavy Tournament of Champions, a silver at the U-17 and U-21 Ontario Cup, and a bronze at the Canada Games.
The Tide signed three midfielders Victoria Fredrick, Kelly King, and Carly Mygrants in the 2007 class.
Fredrick is a native of Huntsville and played for the Vestavia Attack Club Team under coach Jason Lockhart. She has also been a member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) state team from 2002-06, Lady Raptors club team and the North Alabama Untied Samba club team. She won three state championships with the Lady Raptors and two state championships with the Samba. Fredrick was named to both the All-State team and the Huntsville Times All-Metro Team on two occasions playing for coach Henry Mpagi.
King is a midfielder from Mooreville, North Carolina. She is a three time All-Conference and three time All-Region performer at Lake Norman High School, where she was coached by Dane Perry. She is also a member of the 2004 North Carolina State Champion Charlotte Soccer Blue club team and the Greensboro Twisters Club which is coached by Chris Brewer and the legendary coach Rich Winslow. King was the starting midfielder for the NC State Select ODP team from 2002-2006.
Mygrants comes to the Tide from Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio where she was a NSCAA All-American, two time NSCAA All-Region team, two time First Team All-Conference, DII Conference Player of the Year, and two time First Team Ohio All-State. She was also a member of the Cincinnati United Premier White club team, where she won the Buckeye Premier League Championship, OSYSA State Cup Championship and the Midwest National League Championship.
Coach Staley added one forward in the 2007 signing class in Brooke Rodgers. She attended Indian Hills High School in Cincinnati where she was a First Team Ohio All-State, NSCAA All-Region team, NSCAA Scholar All-American, and three time All-Conference team. She was also a member of the Cincinnati United Premier club with Alabama signee Carly Mygrants which was coached by Jim Calder.
The Tide signed one defender in Sydney Barker, a native of Roswell, Georgia. She was a defensive specialist for the nationally ranked Tophat Gold club team under coach Todd Schulenberger. Barker is a dual sport athlete that brings grace, intelligence and a physical presence to the field. She is the daughter of Leo Barker, a former NFL linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals.
“With the large number of skill position players we have in this signing class, along with the development of the squad that we currently have that gives us reason for excitement about the upcoming season,” Staley said.
Coach Staley also anticipates as many as ten walk on players to make the Tide team this fall. .
Maggie Bailey is a defender from
Two local athletes joining the Tide are Jessica Allaway, a defender from
Two in state athletes Lauren Mann and Callie O’Steen will play at the Capstone this fall. Mann is a forward from
Two defenders from
Molly Wittig is a speedy and creative center midfielder that will compete for time on the front line with the Tide. She has experience playing for ODP teams in
Juliana Spivey is a goalkeeper from
Other players will be offically announced once they have enrolled at the University of Alabama and cleared by the compliance office.
In addition to the 2007 commitments the Tide will return 15 players that saw significant action last season and receive three players back after receiving a medical red shirt and missing the 2006 season.
The Tide will open their spring season on February 24th as Alabama A&M and Shelton State visits the Alabama Soccer Complex.
