Signing Day is This Wednesday!!

Last year at this time, we were introducing you to our new players such as Hanna Terry... And in 2008 it was a group including Lauren Dudley (here signing to join us)!






Get ready to meet the 2010 Freshman Class for the Utes! This Wednesday is the National Letter of Intent Signing Date for high school seniors. It's an exciting day for us as we officially get to "unveil" our new players. And it's a great day for them as they get to sign at "parties" with their school mates and club teammates.

Bookmark our blog and be checking throughout the day on Wednesday, Thursday and beyond this week. This is the place where we will introduce you to our new Utes. And then click over to www.utahutes.com as we will have more information when all of the players have finished signing.


Here is sophomore Anne Shallenberger scoring for Provo HS in the state title game in 2007.


















This is the place...


Goal keeper Hannah Turpen led her San Clemente HS team to a CIF title in 2008.

New Ute: Allie Wisner Brings Creative Energy

Okay, we alluded to this the other day... We've added another talented player to the Ute team for next fall...Allie Wisner is coming to Salt Lake City from Bozeman, Montana. She is a talented attacking player with good skill and fantastic vision. She works extremely hard on and off the ball. And she has a competitive spirit that is contagious.

We are excited about Allie's decision to join our team and we're looking forward to great things from her. For more, check out the article at www.utahutes.com by clicking here.

Another New Ute: Allie Coming from Montana to Salt Lake!

Allie Wisner (#10 in red) has joined the Ute Soccer team for the coming year! Allie is currently a senior at Bozeman High School in Montana. She plays for the Bozeman Blitzz. Allie is a midfielder/forward. We saw her play as a guest for the Boca Soccer Club from California and were impressed with the skill, her drive and competitive spirit.

We are excited to welcome Allie to Utah soccer. And we'll have more information soon...

New Ute: Ashley Mosley Brings Speed to the Defense

Ashley Mosley came onto the Utah recruiting radar somewhat late in the process. She was spotted at the Thanksgiving Surf Cup in San Diego. And we are very thankful indeed! Ashley is a fast and versatile defender. She is two-footed and can play on any row of the field (defense, midfield, forward). Ashley is a great competitor and will bring speed and toughness to the Ute back line.

Ashley is from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she plays for the Players SC and coach Saeed Bonabian (a former Utah men's soccer coach!) as well as Centennial High School. Ashley spent some of her early years in Okinawa, Japan...sounds like a great adventure. She also had some great battles with current Utah defender Lauren Dudley as Ashley's Centennial and Lauren's Palo Verde are great rivals!

Welcome, Ashley!

New Ute: Hanna Terry goes to Sweden to prepare for next fall

It was a great adventure this week to get new Utah forward Hanna Terry to sign and turn in her National Letter of Intent (NLI). You see Hanna is currently in Sweden. Her mom is in Aspen on a ski week...and the logistics of getting signatures and faxes in has been a challenge..but it's done and now official...Hanna has joined the team!

Hanna is a fast and skillful attacker. She can beat defenders on the dribble, with a pass or just by running by them. Hanna (along with fellow New Ute, Zoe Van Gorder) led her Park City High School team all the way to the State 3A Championship game this fall and led the team in scoring...she scored a number of goals during the state playoffs to propel her team to the final. Hanna played with Zoe on the Black Diamond club team coached by Richie Breza. Zoe and Hanna played as freshman with Kelly Isleib on Park City's state champions.

Hanna's mom is from Sweden. And Hanna graduated from Park City this December. She is currently in Malmoe, living with relatives. She is going to school to learn Swedish a bit better and to practice her soccer for this fall. She'll return in April...what a great way to finish high school!

Welcome, Hanna!

New Ute: Monica Continues Bountiful HS Connection

The Utes have had many good players come from Bountiful High School...Monica Okapal is the newest member of the entering Class of 2009...and the latest Bountiful High School product of coach Dave Wigham's program. Monica suffered a traumatic ACL injury to her knee in 2007 and missed her junior year of high school soccer. However, she came back strong as a senior to score over 25 goals and lead the Braves to the State Final game in class 4A this year.

Names such as Carisse Winegar and current players Christine Quinn and Chelsea Forbes will ring familiar with Utah Soccer fans. And Monica will bring the same kind of talent and competitiveness to the U.

Welcome, Monica!

New Ute: Dual Sport Athlete Joins the Team

Natalie Young will be making the trip up I-15 to Salt Lake City next year. Natalie will be very busy as she will be playing soccer in the fall semester and running for the Ute track and field squad in the spring.

Natalie is a forward from Springville High School, where she played for coach Ryan Swanson. (Former Ute player Mckenzie Joyner also came to the U from the Red Devils).

Natalie is fast, she is two-footed and covers a lot of ground. She was chosen as the Utah Valley Girls' Soccer Player of the Year by the Provo Daily Herald (they took the photo at left). Click here to read the article.

Natalie will also be running the long sprints for the Utah Track and Field team. She runs the 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints and was a state champ in her class last year as a junior. Natalie will be following in the footsteps of former Utah dual-sport great, Amanda Feigt, who was a 4-time all Mountain West Conference player in soccer and won the MWC heptathlon in 2007.

Welcome, Natalie!






Ute soccer and track fans

New Ute: Canadian Thunder from Toronto

Stephanie Lemeza is the latest player to join the Utah Ute soccer family! Stephanie hails from Toronto, Ontario in Canada. She attends St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School and plays for coach Fausto Macri and the Erin Mills Soccer Club.

Coach Manning spotted Stephanie in between shivers in Mississauga last May in some of the coldest soccer weather he can remember...He almost lost some fingers due to frostbite, but it was worth it! Steph is a powerful and versatile player. She is excellent in the air, hits great long passes and can score from distance.

The U. has a long list of great Canadian athletes in sports like basketball, swimming and diving, skiing, track and field....Stephanie is the first Canadian to join the soccer program...and we are super excited to have Stephanie on our team!

New Ute: Zoe Brings Defense and more

The paper work is trickling in on our new group of Utah soccer players...we'd like to give you the news as it happens. We will follow up with a more detailed release on UtahUtes.com early next week...

Zoe Van Gorder is a tremendous athlete: power, strength, agility. She is also a good defender and is a weapon with her heading ability. Here is a photo of Zoe signing her NLI to make it official...smiles all around and great excitement at the soccer offices.

Zoe comes to the U from Park City High School (about 30 minutes away from campus) and the Black Diamond Soccer Club, where she played for Coach Richie Breza. Zoe was a high school teammate of current Ute Kelly Isleib and a club teammate of current Ute Chelsea Forbes.

Welcome, Zoe!!

New Ute: Clutch Goal Scorer Comes Aboard

Anne Shallenberger is no stranger to scoring goals... and scoring when the chips are down. Anne scored several important goals this past fall in leading her Orem High School team to the 4A State Championship here in Utah. (To the left you'll see a photo of her celebration after scoring in the state final game). She has also scored several important goals with her Celtic Storm club team over the years. The team has had tremendous success over the last few years, making it to the Region IV club team championships the last two years in Colorado and Nevada.

Now clutch goal scorers are supposed to be cutthroat, merciless people. They take no prisoners and will do anything it takes out on the field (and Anne definitely scores those goals that break the other team's heart). But these ruthless players are not supposed to come in such pleasant packages. Anne is a generous person that is always looking at the positive side of things. She has participated in our Utah Women's Soccer Academy in each of the last two summers and we have found her to have that rare combination of being involved in the most fierce competition while sporting a smile on her face at the same time.

Anne is a terrific all-around athlete that will help us in many ways. In addition to her soccer success, she has done very well in basketball and track (running in the 100 to 400m events).
We can't wait to have her join us this fall.

Welcome to Anne and her family!

New Ute: Another Viking Comes to the Hill

For those that don't know yet...the University of Utah campus is snuggled up against the foothills of the Wasatch mountain range. So, it is often referred to as the "hill". Well, another Viewmont Viking has agreed to come and join the Utes next year.

Viewmont High School has produced three current Ute players: redshirt sophomore goal keeper Emalee Rogers, sophomore defender Jena Roberts, and freshman forward Erin Dalley. And next year, Mallory Mitamura will join the team. Mallory has come to the Utah Women's Soccer Academy (our summer camp program) the last two years and we've gotten to know her game well.

Mallory is a versatile player, who has grown up with the Utah Rush soccer club. She can play anywhere in midfield or the back row very comfortably. She reads the game very well on offense and defense and is very comfortable on the ball. We like her versatility and soccer sense a lot.

That makes 4 Viewmont players in 4 years...we'll have to see if the streak continues.

Welcome to Mallory and her family!

New Ute: Two-sport star

Shay Kennedy has been a star in two sports at Murray High School. In the fall, she is the rock in the nets as the goal keeper for the Murray soccer team. And, in the winter, she is the rock in the post as the leading scorer on the Murray basketball team. The Utes are ecstatic on two fronts...one, that she is choosing soccer....and two, that she is choosing our school and program.

Shay is a tremendous athlete in goal. She is quick, strong and very agile. She can make the acrobatic save and also come out and get the high ball in a crowd. Shay plays for the Impact club team in the spring and has come to our Utah Women's Soccer Academy over the past two summers. She is a terrific student as well and we are excited to have her.

Welcome to Shay and her family!

New Ute: First Canadian?

Lauren Dudley lives in Las Vegas, Nevada...her parents are from the Alberta province in Canada. She has trained in both the Canadian provincial program and the US ODP. According to our research and depending on how she views it...Lauren could be the first Canadian to play for the Utes...More importantly, regardless of where she is from, Lauren is an outstanding defender.

Lauren plays center back. And she has all the qualities in her game that a center back needs...she is tough on the ground, great in the air, a good communicator, composed, and good on the ball.

Lauren has played for the Rebels Soccer Club and was coached for several years by former Ute, Amanda Schmutz. She is also a terrific student and will be a great addition.

Welcome to Lauren and her family!

New Ute: Goal keeper and Nurse in Training

Let's start with with the obvious connections right away... Hannah Turpen, goal keeper, comes from San Clemente High School and the So. Cal. Blues. Two places that are very familiar to Utah soccer. Current Ute seniors, Chelsea Card and Kiley Jones, are San Clemente grads and also played for the Blues. Ute freshman, Morgan Skeen, is also a Blues grad...assistant coach Laurel Roderick played for the Blues...and head coach Rich Manning started coaching on the girls side with the Blues...well that's a lot of company for Hannah...

Hannah is a terrific talent and a hard worker. She is explosive, courageous and has good range in the goal. She has excellent foot skills and communicates well with her teammates...all wonderful qualities for a 'keeper. We are excited about her current game as well as her determination to improve.

Hannah is also a wonderful young lady...and will be studying in our Nursing College. Let's see...tough soccer goalie by day and compassionate nurse by night....interesting!

Welcome to Hannah and her family!

New Ute: Perfect Chemistry

Let's see...if you were a chemist and wanted to combine all the perfect elements to form a great soccer player...in addition to soccer skills, you would probably want to have qualities such as competitiveness, work ethic, mental and physical toughness, intelligence, teamwork... If you can mix those up in the right proportions, you would have a winning player.

Well, Kellie Woodfield has just those qualities. She can play anywhere in the back or midfield. She is a competitive person, a quick learner and a skillful player. Kellie will come to us from Timpview High School down in Utah County. (Ute assistant coach, Laurel Roderick, used to coach at Timpview back in the day)...She also plays on the Celtic Storm soccer club...and she is currently the point guard on a Timpview basketball team that is leading its Region and having a great season...whether it be on the soccer field, basketball court or in the classroom...success for Kellie is definitely not a surprise. Kellie came to the Utah Women's Soccer Academy the past two summers and caught our eye there first.

She is interested in studying chemistry...
Welcome to Kellie and her family!

New Ute: Blond Bomber

If you go to a Black Diamond club team or Davis High School game, you can't miss Roxy Tebbs out on the soccer field. She has this blond hair....REALLY blond hair! It's probably the first thing you'll notice when you see her play. But it won't take long before you see all of the other qualities that make her stand out. She is tough...We mean TOUGH out on the field. When she gets going on a dribbling run with the ball...it is nearly impossible to knock her off. She can "slice and dice" and she can "drive and dish". And she can hit a shot. Roxy plays in the midfield or up front...and she has been dabbling with an outside back role. Regardless of where she plays, Roxy can put fear into the opponent. We've been watching her for several years with club, high school and ODP teams...and look forward to having her put on the red and white!

Welcome to Roxy and family!

New Ute: Another Bountiful Player

We have a tradition here at Utah of getting some very good players from the Bountiful area of Utah. Bountiful is a beautiful community just about 10 miles north of Salt Lake City. Some of Utah's greats have come from Bountiful, Woods Cross and Viewmont high schools there. And our class of freshmen Utes will now include Bountiful high school's Chelsea Forbes.

Chelsea is a wonderfully skillful attacking player. She can play either forward or attacking midfield. She has SOFT feet and can control any kind of ball hit towards her under any kind of pressure. She's got good vision and is able to create chances around the goal. She will fit in well with our attacking players and will allow us to play a game with fast ball movement. She plays on the Black Diamond club team out of Park City.

Chelsea played at Bountiful High School with freshman defender, Christine Quinn. They teamed up in 2006 to lead Bountiful to the state championship.

Welcome to Chelsea and her family!

New Ute: Colorado Rush import

Well, the NLI's have been trickling in yesterday and today for our incoming class of 2008 high school graduates. First thing in the morning, when the e-mail came in notifying us that Katie Martinez had faxed in her paper work, we were fired up. As we said yesterday, this is the culmination of a long process and an exciting day.

Katie plays for the Colorado Rush soccer club and attends Chatfield High School in the Denver area. She is a midfielder by trade but is versatile enough to play different positions. We first saw her play in a women's league game in Colorado in the spring of 2006. Former Utah great Dominique Barcellona coaches with the Rush and tipped us off to Katie. She immediately reminded us of current Ute senior, Kiley Jones. And we think, like Kiley, she will be one of those players that just quietly plays the game of soccer at a very high level.

Katie is not the biggest player but is VERY tough for her size...excellent defensive skills and a good header. As with almost all the Colorado Rush players, she is very clean and confident on the ball.

We welcome Katie and her family! More details about her will follow at www.utahutes.com when we get all the NLI's in and put the official release out.