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ENMU arrow Athletics arrow News arrow Press Releases arrow 2006 Archive arrow 2/1 Zia Soccer Signings
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arrow2006 Archive

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ENMU Signs 10 Women’s Soccer Players to National Letters-of-Intent

PORTALES, N.M. — Eastern New Mexico University head women’s soccer coach Travis McCorkle has announced the signing of 10 student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent. Nine of the recruits will be freshmen and one recruit will be a junior during the Fall 2006 semester. Listed below are players who signed National Letters-of-Intent with Eastern New Mexico University during the first week of the regular signing period, which started on Feb. 1, 2006.

In 2005, Eastern fell one victory short of advancing to the LSC Tournament in just the third year of the ENMU women’s soccer program. Even so, the Zias’ achieved their first-ever winning record at 10-8-1, including 3-5-1 in the LSC. Although the Zias took 43 fewer shots than their opponents, Eastern scored four more goals.

During the three seasons in the program’s existence, the Zias have improved every year, attaining a 3-12 record in 2003 and a 9-9-2 record in 2004. McCorkle has coached the soccer team since its inception.

Freshmen in 2006

Kimberley Anaya
Forward/Midfielder, 5'3"
Albuquerque, New Mexico (Eldorado High School)

Anaya played four years of soccer at Eldorado High School, including her final two years on the varsity team. During her senior year, she was chosen Honorable Mention All-District. Anaya also was the manager of her high school wrestling team. She will major in Business Administration at ENMU. Coach McCorkle says: “Kim has been a part of Eldorado High School, which has a strong tradition among New Mexico high school soccer programs. She has very good vision on the field and can make great passes to her teammates. We are pleased to have her join our team and look forward to her contributions on and off the field.”

Ashley Arguello
Forward, 5'6"
Castle Rock, Colorado (Ponderosa High School)

Arguello received two letters in girls’ soccer at Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colo. She provided great leadership as the captain of the junior varsity and varsity teams. She graduated on the Principal’s Honor Roll and received the Hispanic Heritage Award. Coach McCorkle says: “Ashley is a player with good technical ability. Her technical ability allows her to play clean passes that teammates can finish on goal. She is also a player who will be able to create and finish her own chances on goal. She is a good fit to our effort at increasing our attacking potency.”

Alexandra Atherton
Defender, 5'6"
Odessa, Texas (Permian High School)

Atherton played four years of soccer for the Lady Panthers of Permian High School in Texas. In 2005 and 2006, she was selected for Who’s Who Among American High School Students. Coach McCorkle says: “Alex brings great experience as a defender. She played for the Alliance Soccer Club and Coach Kevin Wilton in Midland, Texas. Her tenaciousness while defending will be important as we look to decrease our goals against average again next fall. We look forward to her strong contributions to our team.”

Alexandra Barilla
Defender/Midfielder, 5’8”
Las Vegas, Nevada (Bishop Gorman High School)

Barilla received a letter in soccer all four years at Bishop Gorman High School in Nevada. She was selected Most Valuable Player of her team in 2002 and Most Improved Player in 2003. Barilla scored 29 goals during her career and was her high school’s career assist leader. She provided great leadership as a co-captain during her junior year and as captain during her senior year. Academically, she qualified for the Honor Roll every year in high school. Coach McCorkle says: “Alex comes from a strong club team in Las Vegas, the Tabagators 88. She has the ability to play either defense or midfield for us. Her ability to serve and shoot from long distance gives our team another powerful goal-scoring threat. At 5’8”, she should also be dangerous at finishing crosses.”

April Funck
Midfielder/Forward, 5’7"
Amarillo, Texas (Amarillo High School)

Funck will be joining her sister, Anna, who will be a senior and has played for the Zias since the inception of soccer at ENMU in 2003. April is presently playing her third season on the varsity team at Amarillo High Schoo. She led her junior varsity team in scoring and assists as a freshman and was selected as the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player. She has received an Academic Letter and has been named to the National Honor Roll for two years. Coach McCorkle says: “April and Anna will become the first sisters to ever play together for ENMU women’s soccer. April is another player who could play at more than one position for our team. At Amarillo High School, she plays both midfield and forward, and I think she could also play as a defender for us. She adds a little height to our team and is a powerful player.”

Samantha Lawrence
Forward, 5'8"
Roswell, New Mexico (Goddard High School)

In four years of soccer, Lawrence was selected All-State twice and All-District three times, including District Player of the Year in 2005. She has scored 77 goals and provided 64 assists in her career at Goddard High School in New Mexico. She was a member of the National Honor Society and received the USAA National Leadership Merit Award. Coach McCorkle says: “Samantha played at Goddard High School in Roswell. She finished second in the State for points with 37 goals and 30 assists (104 points). She understands what to do in front of the goal. We believe she also has the height and strength to hold the ball for us up front, while teammates move to support her. She is another good attacker for ENMU.”

Megan Luevano
Forward, 5'6"
Alamogordo, New Mexico (Alamogordo High School)

Luevano played three sports at Alamogordo High School in New Mexico. She earned a letter in soccer in each of her four years at AHS. As a senior, she was selected First Team All-District, including Forward of the Year. She also received All-State Honorable Mention this past season. During her junior year, Luevano was again selected as the District Forward of the Year in addition to receiving Second Team All-District honors. She also was chosen Second Team All-District as a sophomore. She letters three times as a wing on the AHS basketball team. As a junior, she was named First Team All-District and was chosen for the District All-Tournament Team. A member of the National Honor Society, she is in the top ten percent of her class.

Coach McCorkle says: “Megan has an attacking mentality with some clever and intelligent play in and around the goal. Megan also understands when to dribble and when to pass during the game. She finishes her chances with a calm and confident technique. We are confident that she will add to a strong group of attacking players in this year’s recruiting class.”

Michelle Sumner
Forward/Midfielder/Defender, 5'4"
Los Lunas, New Mexico (Los Lunas High School)

Sumner played forward and midfielder for four years at Los Lunas High School in New Mexico. She led her team in scoring each season, finishing with 49 career goals and a school record 31 assists. She was selected All-State twice, All-District three times and All-Metro once. She was the recipient of the 2005 Recognition of Soccer Excellence (R.O.S.E.) Award in addition to being chosen to the All-Academic team.

Coach McCorkle says: “Michelle brings a lot of great experience having played for two strong club teams in New Mexico, Rio Visto FC and NM Rush. She has been able to compete at the local, state and regional levels with her club teams. She has played midfielder, forward and defender. We see a temendous competitive mentality in Michelle, who we are pleased to have joining our program.”

Leslie Weber
Forward, 5'4"
Alamogordo New Mexico (Alamogordo High School)

As a three-sport athlete at Alamogordo High School, Weber’s accomplishments on the soccer field include being selected to the All-District Team three times, while earning the Outstanding Player Award twice and the Outstanding Forward Award once at AHS. Weber is a two-time State competitor in cross country. She won the District Championship in cross country as a freshman. She is an honor roll student and has been selected to Who’s Who of American High School Students during each of the past two years.

Coach McCorkle says: “Leslie is a player who will keep things simple and be highly effective with this. She is a hard-working player who possesses good technical and tactical abilities. Leslie also played high school soccer with fellow recruit Megan Luevano, so there is already a built-in understanding between these two players and we will obviously try to take advantage of that. We look forward to her contributions to our overall team success.”

Junior College Transfer

Amy Wilcox
Forward, 5'7"
Scottsdale, Arizona (Paradise Valley Community College)

Wilcox is transferring from Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., where she played two years of soccer. As a forward, whe recorded 12 goals and 4 assists during her career. She previously competed in three sports at Payson High School, where she played four years of soccer and was named her team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player as a junior and a senior. She was selected First Team All-Conference three times, Second Team All-Conference once and received one Honorable Mention. Wilcox was chosen to the State All-Tournament Team as a junior, was the team captain as a senior and led her team in scoring her last three seasons. She received the Scholar-Athlete Award all four years. Wilcox recorded 53 goals and 14 assists during her high school career. She will be majoring in Physical Education at Eastern.

Coach McCorkle says: “Amy’s collegiate experience will be a great benefit to us. She is
another attacking player who has composure in front of goal to help increase our goal output. We see good things from Amy and look forward to her joining our team.”.

 

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