Erwin Adds 10 Signees for 2008 Class

[PonyPride]

Erwin Adds 10 Signees for 2008 Class
Additions bring class to 17 players

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU women's soccer coach Brent Erwin announced Tuesday the signing of 10 new players: goalkeepers Rebecca Cushing (Lone Tree, Colo.) and Courtney Webb (Dallas, Texas); defenders Vicky Ascensio (Kingwood, Texas) and Tracy Diers (Dallas, Texas); midfielders Mary Connally (Arlington, Texas), Melissa Cowle (Plano, Texas), Devon Hermann (Irving, Texas), Courtney Messina (Plano, Texas) and Jordynn Prado (Plano, Texas); and forward Alex Dreyer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), bringing to 17 the number of players in his first recruiting class.

The Mustangs' newcomers join seven other players - defenders Carlin Gibbs (Tulsa, Okla.), Natalie Heintz (Great Falls, Va.), Alexandra Russell (Birmingham, Ala.); midfielders Dylan Jordan (Clarksville, Tenn.), Kaitlyn Edson (Katy, Texas) and Katherine Cox (McKinney, Texas); and forwards Logan May (Coppell, Texas) and Sarah Catherine Ryan (Memphis, Tenn.), who signed in February.

Connally, who was named Most Valuable Player in the competitive District 7-5A while playing for Arlington's Lamar High School, also plays for the Sting West club team. "Mary is a player who came to us late, but we're very lucky to have her," Erwin said. "She's a very good, very combative midfielder who has good size and very good feet. She's a very strong competitor who kind of slid under the radar a little because of the attention some other players in her district got, but we think she's a great addition to our team. She has a chance to come in and play right away."

"This gives us a very strong pool of players for next season," Erwin said. "The No. 1 thing that makes players perform at the highest possible level is competition, and this group gives the overall talent level of the team an enormous boost. We have some very capable players coming back in the fall, and now we have some talented newcomers to compete with them and push them every day in practice, which should make everyone perform at a higher level."

Goalies Cushing and Webb come to SMU and join returning Meagan Boyle to help Erwin bolster the netminder position behind incumbent starter Ashley Gunter. "Becca (Cushing) is a wonderful goalkeeper," Erwin said. "She gets across the (penalty) area very quickly, and she handles crosses very well. She's a very active 'keeper who will make us a stronger team in goal.

"Courtney (Webb) is a player I'm very excited to see. She's a goalie for the Sting club team, but she was named all-district as a forward at Greenhill. She's has very good technical ability with the ball, because she's a soccer player playing goalkeeper. I'm excited to see how she plays here."

Erwin has said one of his offseason goals was to make the defense stronger and faster, and along with some position changes among returning players, he sees some of the newcomers playing a vital role in that transition.

Gibbs comes to Dallas from Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School, and also has played for the Edmond Soccer Club and with the Oklahoma ODP state team and regional pool. "Carlin has all the physical tools to be an outstanding player," Erwin said. "She's tall and lean and fast, and plays on one of the best teams in the country. She wins everything in the air, and we really want her to come in and compete for playing time right away.

Ascencio is a defender (and sometime midfielder) who plays for the Eclipse club team. "Vicky is very strong, a very good player," Erwin said. "She's very athletic. She's strong in possession, and keeps the tempo up when passing the ball. She's really a blue-collar kind of player who can do a lot of the things every team needs."

Diers, of Dallas' Hockaday School and the D'Feeters club team, is another late addition to the 2008 class who Erwin said should help fortify the Mustangs' backfield. "Tracy is another one who we got kind of late, but we're very happy to have her," Erwin said. "She's a very strong defender, a wonderful marker. She could play an inside defensive position for us, but I think she'll be better outside. Her versatility in the back end gives us some versatility."

Heintz is another fast, athletic player Erwin said can help increase the overall speed of the SMU defense. "Natalie is an attacking player with wonderful speed," Erwin said. "She's one of the best in the state (of Virginia) in track. We're going to play her in the back, where she can mark players and come forward to take advantage of her speed."

Russell, from Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, Ala., plays for the Birmingham United club team and is a member of the Alabama ODP team. "She's a defender with really nice speed who also is pretty versatile," Erwin said. "She can play either outside back position, and that kind of versatility is invaluable when you're mixing up different combinations."

In addition to the pure defenders, Cox is a versatile player who could play as a midfielder or as a defender for the Mustangs after helping lead her McKinney Boyd High School team to a second straight state championship. "Katherine is a great kid who is a real leader on that team, with her play and with the way she carries herself," Erwin said. "She's a very good passer, and very good at possessing the ball, and she's a strong, confrontational defender."

Aside from Connally and Cox, Erwin has five other midfielders in his first recruiting class.

Jordan is a member of the Stones River Soccer Club in Tennessee, and is a member of the United States National Team Pool and the Region III ODP team. "Dylan is a wonderful player," Erwin said. "She has a very good work rate, and she is very good technically, too. She loves SMU, and she loves to play, and will be an excellent addition to our team."

Edson, a member of the Eclipse Soccer Club and the Cinco Ranch High School team in Katy, Texas, is another versatile player who Erwin thinks can help the Ponies in a number of ways. "She is a very good player who has gotten some great coaching from Amy Pettibone (at CRHS). She can play with both feet, which means we could play her in a number of positions, and she's very strong in the air, and a very good passer. She's another player who has those strong leadership qualities, and we think she's going to fit in very nicely with our team."

One of nine local players in the Mustangs' class is Cowle, who plays for Plano West High School and the Dallas Sting club team. "Melissa is a great kid with the highest character and the highest work ethic you could ask for," Erwin said. "She has an awful lot of potential, and I'm very excited to see how she develops."

The other three midfielders in the 2008 class are local players: Hermann plays for Irving High School and the Aces club team; Messina and Prado are both from Plano - Messina plays for the Texas Spirit club team, and Prado for the Dallas Texans. "Devon (Hermann) is a very good player with excellent speed and quickness. Courtney (Messina) is another player who came to us late, and gives us some things we need: she's a strong defensive midfielder with good size and speed, and wonderful athletic ability. Jordynn (Prado) is a very technical, quick player who has had great coaching with the Texans club team.

"We've added a lot of players in the midfield, and that's a good thing. I'm a big believer that competition makes players better, and we have a lot of talented players coming in who really will push each other."

Dreyer, from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., who fell off the radar of some teams after injuring a knee in her senior season.

"We're very excited about Alex - she plays on a very good high school team (St. Margaret's) and a huge club team, the Slammers," Erwin said. "She got hurt and went a little under the radar with some schools, but we think she can come back and be an effective, attacking scorer for us."

Further bolstering the SMU offense will be another pair of forwards: Logan May of Coppell, Texas and Sarah Catherine Ryan of Memphis, Tenn.

"Logan is one of the top forwards in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and her whole life, she has wanted to come to SMU," Erwin said. "She's left-footed and tall, and her dad is her coach - and he's taught her well. We expect her to come in and compete right away. Sarah Catherine is another player we like a lot. She's small (5-foot-2), but she's hard-working and intense - she has a tremendous work rate. She can play a variety of positions, and she has spent time at the IMG Soccer Academy (in Bradenton, Fla.), so she's used to being in a full-time soccer environment."

The Mustangs open the season Aug. 16 at Baylor before returning home for four straight games at Westcott Field: Aug. 23 against Oklahoma State, Aug. 31 against Ole Miss, Sept. 5 against Prairie View A&M and Sept. 7 against Kansas (which is coached by former SMU All-America midfielder Mark Francis). For a complete schedule and ticket information, log on to SMUMustangs.com or call 214-SMU-GAME.