Soccer Signs Seven to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday
2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama head soccer coach Wes Hart announced the addition of seven newcomers who signed national letters of intent to play soccer at the Capstone. The class is the first true signing class for Hart as he enters his second year at the helm of the Tide soccer program.
The newest additions join one early enrollee at Alabama to make up the seven student-athlete signing class.
This year's class includes: Keely Cartrett (Suwanee, Ga./Lambert HS), Taylor Hubbard (Tampa Bay, Fla./Paul R. Wharton HS), Chloe Maize (Cleveland, Tenn./Baylor School), Nealy Martin (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain HS), Alex Plavin (Atlanta/Riverwood HS), Emilie Saksvig (Richmond, Va./Deep Run HS) and Logue Shamburger (Atlanta/Westminster HS)
"Overall, I am very excited about this group," Hart said. "I think we have a good mix of players that can complement each other and the team. Chloe Maize joined us at the start of the semester in January. She is fitting in quite nicely. It's evident in the short time that she's been here that she will be a huge boost to our attack. We are adding two goalkeepers, Emilie and Alex, that we believe can push Kat Stratton and compete for playing time in the Fall. Keely and Taylor will add depth to our midfield. Taylor is a more attacking-minded player, while we see Keely as more of a holding player. Logue will provide us an attacking presence out wide and could very easily end up as an outside back. Nealy is a local product, hailing from Birmingham, Ala. She is capable of playing just about anywhere on the field."
Kelly Cartrett, a 5-8 midfielder from Suwanee, Ga., comes to the Capstone after splitting her club career at Minnesota Thunder Academy (2010-13) and Atlanta Fire United (2013-15) under head coach Domenic Matrelli. Cartrett was the captain of Atlanta Fire from 2014-15 and helped lead her team to the 2015 U-18 Georgia State Championship and a TopDrawerSoccer.com top-25 ranking for the South Atlantic region. Her regional honors include being a member of both Minnesota and Georgia's State Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams, a member of the Region III ODP team, being named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Best XI for the Atlanta Combine and being a part of both Georgia and the Elite Clubs National League's (ECNL) Player Development Programs.
"Keely has good size," Hart said. "I believe she will play as a holding midfielder or perhaps even as a center back. She's good in the air."
While at Lambert High School, Cartrett was a three-year letter-winner (2014-16) and served as the team captain. She helped lead them to the 6A State Finals and the Region Championship in 2015. Her list of high school honors include being named to the First Team All-Region and All-County in 2015, earning the Coaches Award in 2014 and the Longhorn Award in 2015.
"Keely is a highly competitive tenacious midfielder whose quickness, speed and strength will be an asset to Coach Hart and the Crimson Tide for the next four years," Matrelli said. "Her athletic ability, coupled with her desire to succeed is a wonderful combination to see on the field whether it's in the training environment, or in a proper match. Keely is very dangerous on the ball and really understands the game. She's a technically gifted player who is very dependable in possession. She sees the field very well and her distribution is excellent. She has excellent finishing abilities and attacks well on her own coming out of the midfield, or in combination with her teammates."
Plavin is a 5-6 goalkeeper from Atlanta that attended high school at Riverwood International Charter School, where she holds the school records for the lowest goals against average (0.59), highest win percentage, the lowest amount of goals allowed in a season (13), most shutouts (13) and most wins (14). A three-year (2012-14), Plavin helped lead her high school to the 7A regions championship (2013) and to the Elite Eight in Georgia's state tournament, the furthest her school had advanced in program history. Her individual accolades include being a two-time All-Area First Team member (2013-14), where she was the only freshman to be named to the first team in 2013, the recipient of the Raider Award in 2014 and the Northside Neighbor Newspaper Athlete of the Week in April, 2014.
"Alex was the starting goalkeeper for the same Tophat Soccer Club team that Logue came from," Hart said. "She is a good shot-stopper and is comfortable playing off her line. She reads the game well and is very good communicator."
Plavin comes to Alabama as one of the three signees (Maize and Shamburger) to have played for Troy Garner at Tophat. She was the netminder that helped Tophat win three-straight state championships (2013-15), win the Disney Showcase three-straight seasons (2011-13), make semifinals appearance for Region III in 2014 and a finalist of the Player's Showcase in 2015.
"Alex is an exceptional goalkeeper," Garner said. "She has great hands and is a very good communicator. She pays attention to her position in great detail, has a great work ethic and will be a wonderful teammate."
Hubbard, a 5-5 midfielder from Tampa Bay, Fla., comes to the Tide as a top-50 prospect in the state of Florida by MaxPreps.com and boasts an impressive pedigree on the club level. She played her club soccer at Tampa Bay United under head coach Adrian Bush, where she helped lead the team to be the 2015 U-17 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship, runners-up to the 2014 USYS National Championship, the 2015 Region III Champions, 2015 Florida State Cup Champions, 2015 Disney Showcase Champions, 2015 Southern Region Premier League Champions and the 2015 ACDC Champions. Hubbard's individual club accolades include being named to the 2014 USYS National Championship Best XI team.
"Taylor is an incredible talent," Bush said. "On the ball she possesses technical ability and vision that is not matched by many. She is very committed and has good character values that will continue to guide her at the next level. I look forward to seeing her and Alabama succeed in the SEC."
On the high school level, Hubbard was the captain of the Paul R. Wharton High School varsity team, where she would lead the team in goals (13) and assists (19) in the 2015 season. Those 19 assists were the second-most in a season in school history. Her individual honors include being named a two-time (2015-16) All-Western Conference first team member, a two-time (2015-16) All-County selection by the Tampa Tribute and a 2016 All-Hillsborough County Senior All-Star.
"Taylor is a proven winner," Hart said. "She played on a team [Tampa Bay United] that won the USYS U-17 National Championship. She will bring an element of creativity and flair to the team."
Saksvig will join the team as a 5-10 goalkeeper from Richmond, Va. While at Deep Run High School, she was a member of the 2014 Regional Championship team and helped lead her team to the 2013 State Championship. She was also named to the All-Conference Academic team in the state of Virginia.
"Emilie has good size and good range," Hart said. "She is comfortable with her feet, which is very important for the way we want to play in the fall."
Saksvig also enjoyed a successful club career at Richmond United ECNL under head coach Andy McIntosh. Her club career highlights include going to the 2015 ECNL Finals, being the three-time Ultimate Cup Champions (2013-15) and two-time State Cup finalists in 2012-13.
"Emilie is a very committed and dedicated goalkeeper," McIntosh said. "She is a great shot-stopper, comfortable at dealing with crosses and good with her feet. Her work rate, superb attitude and her high level of performance in training and games have made her a joy to coach over the last four years."
Martin, a 5-7 defender and midfielder from Birmingham, Ala., arrives as the lone signee from the state of Alabama and is listed as the No. 23 prospect in the nation and No. 1 prospect in the state of Alabama by MaxPreps.com. At Oak Mountain High School, she was the anchor in a defense that only gave up six goals during the 2015 season, en route to capturing the 7A state championship. Her high school awards include being the 2015 Birmingham Girls Soccer Player of the Year, a member of the 2015 AL.com Super All-State Girls Soccer Team, Birmingham Metro Player of the Year, a member of the All-State first team and being selected to the All-Metro first team.
"Capturing in-state talent is important and I believe we got one of the top 2016's in Alabama," Hart said. "Nealy's versatility will allow us to experiment with her in several different positions. I believe she will be able to help us anywhere on the back line or in the center of midfield."
Martin's club highlights include being the captain of her team, Birmingham United under head coach Andrew Bower, and competing in the 2014 National Championship.
"Nealy encompasses all that is good about coaching high level youth soccer in today's game," said Bower. "She has developed into a wonderfulplayer with a tenacious attitude and work rate. She will be a wonderful addition to Wes and his 2016-17 Alabama team. Nealy is a wonderful player, but she is an even better kid off the field."
Shamburger comes to the Tide as another member of Tophat. A midfielder from Atlanta, she was a key contributor for the club that won three-straight state championships (2013-15), the Disney Showcase title three-straight seasons (2011-13), a semi-finals appearance for Region III in 2014 and a finalist of the Player's Showcase in 2015. She was also named to the 2016 Girls IMG Academy 150 Player Pool. Her regional honors include being a member of Georgia's ODP team
"Logue comes from a top club that has experienced success over the years," Hart said. "She has good pace and will be used as a wide midfielder or wide back."
While at Westminster High School, Shamburger helped lead the team to two state championships in 2013 and 2015. Her individual accolades include being the captain and leading scorer for the 2015 state champions. Off the field, Shamburger was both a member of the National Honors Society and Honor Roll.
"Logue is a very clever soccer player with incredible quickness," Garner said. "She has a very good change of pace that causes defenders to be unbalanced. She is a great person and will be a great asset to the Alabama soccer team and community."
The six signees join Alabama's lone early enrollee, forward Chloe Maize, to make up the complete 2016 class. Maize comes to the class from Tophat, where she was named 2014 Region 3 MVP and a member of the All-Region 3 Team for three consecutive years (2013-15). Maize helped lead Tophat to four consecutive state championships (2011-15), the 2015 National Quarterfinals, three consecutive regional championships (2013-14) and four consecutive Region 3 Pools (2012-15).
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