EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville women's soccer head coach
Krista McKendree and her staff announced the signing of six student-athletes that will continue their athletic and academic careers at UE. The Purple Aces' signing class includes a pair of players from the Evansville area and one each from California, Canada, Kentucky and Michigan.
The 2014 UE women's soccer signing class includes: Nicole Baham (Mission Viejo, Calif./Tesoro HS), Madison Haycraft (Owensboro, Ky./Daviess County HS), Montana Portenier (London, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas HS), JBess Ruby (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm HS), Caroline Scales (Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei) and Olivia Shafer (Evansville, Ind./Memorial)
"I am very pleased and excited to welcome the 2014 class and appreciate all the hard work my staff has put into securing these six wonderful ladies," McKendree said. "They each embody characteristics that will reflect positively on both our women's soccer program and the University. It is great to be able to continue to attract players from all across the country and Canada, and it is a testament to the family atmosphere that our current and former players have created here. Montana, Nicki, Olivia, Carly, JBess and Madison have all played on extremely competitive and successful teams and will immediately help us in our quest to bring a championship back to Evansville."
NICOLE BAHAM
Mission Viejo, Calif. (Tesoro)
Notable: Three-year starter at Tesoro High School, where she was one of the top scorers for the Titans and guided the squad to a pair of CIF playoff appearances…Recipient of the Coach's Leadership Award and team MVP…Plays club soccer with the San Diego Surf SC, a club team ranked in the top five nationally in 2013…Helped Surf SC qualify for the 2013 ECNL finals…Ranked as a four-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer and the No. 33 player in the Southern California region.
MADISON HAYCRAFT
Owensboro, Ky. (Daviess County)
Notable: Four-year starter at Daviess County High School, leading the Panthers to a state semifinals appearance as a freshman…Two-time all-state selection, three-time all-district and all-region honoree, including earning region player of the year honors in 2012…Led her team in scoring for two years as a midfielder and led Davies County in assists as a junior…Two-year team MVP and voted team captain as a senior, in addition to breaking the school record for goals in a game…Played five years of club soccer with the Kentucky Fire Juniors 96 and was selected to the first Chicago Fire Juniors Female Elite Team…She is playing her final year of club soccer for the SWISA Crush…Three-year member of the academic all-state team and two-year member of the National Honor Society.
MONTANA PORTENIER
London, Ontario (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Notable: Three-year starter at St. Thomas Aquinas, where she led the Flames in scoring and was named the high school's Female Athlete of the Year as a junior…Led her high school squad to a city title, regional championship and an appearance in the Ontario High School championship…Also a three-year member of the cross country team…Plays club soccer for the Team Ontario ODP and played OYSL soccer for the Nor'West Soccer Club, as well as the North London Soccer club, leading them to an Ontario Cup semifinals appearance as the league's leading goal scorer…Ranked as a three-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
JBESS RUBY
Birmingham, Mich. (Seaholm)
Notable: Three-year starter at Seaholm High School, where she was voted the team captain for the Maples for her senior season…Led Seaholm in scoring for the last three seasons, accumulating 37 goals and 40 assists…Voted the team's best midfielder as a sophomore and was the recipient of the Golden Boot Award as a junior…First team all-league, all-district and all-area in 2013…OAA Scholar-Athlete in both 2012 and 2013…Plays cub soccer for the Michigan Hawks and is a member of the National Honor Society.
CAROLINE SCALES
Evansville, Ind. (Mater Dei)
Notable: Four-year starter at Mater Dei High School, where she led the Wildcats to three sectional titles and a pair of regional championships…Two-time all-state selection, two-time all-state academic honoree, three-time all-district and all-city recipient and a four-time all-conference selection…Plays club soccer for the SWISA Crush, where she serves as team captain and led the squad to a state championship at the U17 level…Member of the National Honor Society and student council at Mater Dei.
OLIVIA SHAFER
Evansville, Ind. (Memorial)
Notable: Four-year varsity player at Reitz Memorial High School…Helped the Tigers to a state championship in 2012 and was a co-captain of her high school team I 2013…Recipient of the Ali Carter Award and earned Second Team All-State, First Team All-District, Second Team All-Conference, First Team All-City and all-metro honors in 2013…Member of the SWISA Crush club team, where she helped the squad to a State Cup title in 2012 as a co-captain…Member of the National Honor Society.
