SMU announces five signees

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Women's Soccer Signs Five To NLIs
Class Includes Two of Top 100 Recruits

Feb. 3, 2010

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU Women's Soccer head coach Brent Erwin announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the class of 2010. The class includes two of the top 100 recruits nationally, and three regionally ranked recruits. The class includes three players who have trained with United States National Teams at various levels, and four players who have Olympic Development Program experience at the Regional Level or higher. The class includes club standouts from the 2008 USYS Under-16 National Champions Dallas Texans, and from the prestigious IMG Soccer Academy.

"We are obviously thrilled with this class," said Head Coach Brent Erwin. "These young women we are bringing to SMU have exceptional potential and we are all very excited to see them join us on campus this fall. Three of the five players have US Youth National Team experience, two are ranked in the top 100 nationally, all of them are ranked amongst the very best in our region, four of the players have won National Championships on the youth level and all of them are wonderful students."

"The recruiting cycle in our sport is early so we have been working for a couple of years to get this class in place," said Erwin. "Our Assistant Coaches Derek Leader and Meagan Surrency have done a great job with this group. We have a great group of current players and they have been working very hard every day to get ready for the Fall 2010 season. These returning players in combination with this recruiting class will do a great job for SMU Soccer."

Jessica Bartol is a standout midfielder from the IMG Soccer Academy who attends Lakewood Ranch High School. Bartol has trained with the US Under-17 National Team, and is a member of the Region III and Florida Olympic Development Program teams. She elected not to play high school soccer to train full-time at the IMG Soccer Academy, where she won numerous honors and Player of the Year awards. She is ranked as the No. 16 recruit in Florida by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Katie Bass is a defender from Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas. She is a member of the Olympic Development Program Region III team, and played on the North Texas State Team. She was a two-time First-Team All-District selection and a 2008 TASCO All-Region Selection. She plays club for the Dallas Texans, who won the 2008 USYS Under-16 National Championship.

Amanda Burgardt is a forward from Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. She trained with the Under-15 US National Team, and is a member of the Region III Olympic Development Program team. She was named to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram "Super Team" in 2008, as well as being named to the TASCO All-Region team. She was named second-team All-District by the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram in 2007. Burgardt played club soccer for Polaris '92, who were twice North Texas State Cup Finalists and were North Texas State Cup Semifinalists in 2008. An all-around athlete, Burgardt also was team MVP in volleyball and basketball in high school. Burgardt is ranked as the No. 54 recruit in the nation and No. 9 in Texas by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Shelby Redman is a forward from St. Stephen's Episcopal High School in Austin, Texas. She participated with the Olympic Development Program, playing for North Texas, South Texas and Virginia teams, and played club for the Dallas Texans, who won the 2008 USYS Under-16 National Championship. She won the Golden Boot Award in the 2006 Manchester United Nike Premier Cup, and played in two matches against the Under-20 Mexican National Team, both of which were draws. Redman is ranked as the No. 89 recruit in the nation and No. 13 in Texas by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Courtney Smith is a defender from Plano, Texas, who attends Plano West High School. She was a member of the Olympic Development Program Under-18 National Team, and played in Olympic Development tournaments in Costa Rica, Italy, and Portugal. She plays club for the Dallas Texans, who won the 2008 USYS Under-16 National Championship. Also an all-around athlete, she was a first-team All-District selection as a basketball player at Plano West High School.

[lwjr]

Congrats, to the Lady Mustang soccer program!

[mustangbill67]

This is a great class especially considering our results the past several years. Hopefully, this class will translate into top 25 results on the field.

[redpony]

This is a great class especially considering our results the past several years. Hopefully, this class will translate into top 25 results on the field.

And if it doesn't there is only one person to blame. NO more excuses - just win or get out.

GO PONIES!!!