Feb. 3, 2005

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State women's soccer head coach Heather Cairns announced the signing of 10 players to national letters of intent on Thursday. The future Aggies are Laura Baggaley, Katie Brower, Trisha Cardon, Lacey Christenson, Candice Clark, Jessica Darrow, Ali Griffin, KD Keller, Alyssa Lowry, and Kiersten Nilsson.

"This is a deep recruiting class that includes some of the top players in the state of Utah," Cairns said. "All have the potential to play right away, so I expect some great battles for positions between them and our core of returning players come preseason."

THE FORWARDS
Candice Clark, a forward from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, was selected first team all-state the past three seasons for the T-birds. She was the state's leading scorer as a junior with 32 goals, breaking the previous Timpview record of 29. Clark finished her career at Timpview with 82 goals. Her club team, Celtic Storm coached by Robyn Bretzing, captured the State Cup Tournament in the summer of 2004. Clark is a club teammate of fellow Aggie recruit Jessica Darrow.

"Candice has a great physical presence on the field," Cairns said. "She also is very competitive and has a serious scoring mentality. These traits will make her a very dangerous player here at Utah State."

KD Keller is a native of Omaha, Neb., where she attended Westside High School. She helped lead Westside to the state quarterfinals in 2001 and was named all state in 2003. Keller played on the club team Arsenal Strikers, which won the State Cup championship during the 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons. She was also a member of the Nebraska state Olympic Development Program from 1999-2004. Keller was also a member of the Omaha Area Youth Orchestras from 2000-04 and a member of the Youth Symphony from 2002-04.

"KD's greatest strength is her tactical understanding in the attack," Cairns said. "She does a great job of getting herself in dangerous scoring positions and is extremely composed in front of the goal."

Kiersten Nilsson comes to Utah State from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nilsson was a four-year letterwinner for coach Mike Kernodle at East, where she scored 12 goals and added 14 assists in leading East to a state championship her senior season. For her efforts, she was named second-team all-state by the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune. As a junior, she recorded 13 goals and 13 assists and led her team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. Nilsson is also on the club team Firebirds, which made the semifinals of the State Cup. She helped the Firebirds place first in Icebreaker and third in Nomads. Nilsson has maintained a 3.9 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society.

"Kiersten is a creative attacker and goal scorer," Cairns said. "We are going to count on her to add some flair to our attack."

THE MIDFIELDERS
Katie Brower, a native of Hyrum, Utah, attended Mountain Crest High School. While at Mountain Crest, she helped the Mustangs capture the region championship the past four seasons. She was also a member of the state runner up team in 2002 as she was selected to the all-region team. Was named all-state, all-region and all-valley as a senior in 2004. Brower played on the club team Firebirds coached by Rick Lien and was a member of the Utah Olympic Development Program team from 2000-2004.

"Katie is listed as a midfielder, but because she possesses such solid all-around skills, she could play any position for us," Cairns said.

Trisha Cardon is a senior at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah. As a senior at Sky View, Cardon garnered first-team all-valley and her team's most valuable player award, while serving as the team captain. She was named first-team all-state, first-team all-valley and all-region her junior season. Cardon is a member of the club team Extreme Soccer. She is also on Sky View's basketball team and currently leads the state in three-point shooting.

"Trisha is a creative, attacking midfield personality," Cairns said. "She is great at playing her teammates in with penetrating passes and can be counted on to put the ball in the back of the net, too."

Lacey Christenson is a midfielder from Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah. Christenson was named second-team all-state as a senior and her team's most valuable player. She was named the region's outstanding midfielder as a junior as well as her team's most valuable player. She was also named first-team all-state by the Deseret News in 2002. As a member of the Utah Olympic Development Program teams in 2001 and 2002, she helped guide her teams to region championships. She is a member of the National Honor Society as she has maintained a 3.9 GPA.

"Lacey is an extremely active central midfielder," Cairns said. "She plays well on both the defensive and attacking side of the ball."

THE DEFENDERS
Alyssa Lowry was a four-year letterwinner for coach Lee Mitchell at Alta High School in Sandy, Utah where she was named first-team all-state in 2004. She was a member of state championship teams in both 2002 and 2004. She has helped her club team, Utah Avalanche Premier, finish second in the State Cup two years running. Fellow USU recruits Lacey Christenson and Ali Griffin are teammates of Lory's on Utah Avalanche Premier. Lowry was a member of the Utah state Olympic Development Program team during 2002 and 2003. While at Alta she has maintained a 3.8 GPA and has stayed on the honor roll all four years.

"Alyssa is a quick, hard and tenacious defender," Cairns said. "She is used to the pressure of being the central player in her team's defense."

Jessica Darrow of Sandy, Utah was a four-year letterwinner for coach Jesus Goyzveta at Jordan High School. She is a high school teammate of fellow Aggie recruit Lacey Christenson. As a sophomore, Darrow led her team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. She was also selected her team's captain both her junior and senior seasons. Darrow led her club team, Celtic Storm, to the Utah state championship in 2004. She is a club teammate with USU recruit Candice Clark and was a member of the Utah Olympic Development Program in 2004. Outside of soccer, Darrow is a member of the National Honor Society with a 3.9 GPA.

"Jessica is an extremely solid all-around defender," Cairns said. "Throughout her club experience she has shut down not only the top attackers in Utah, but also on a regional level."

Laura Baggaley lettered all four years as a defender at Brighton High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the sister of recent Utah State soccer graduate Melissa Baggaley. Baggaley was a first team all-region selection both her junior and senior seasons and was named her team's most valuable player as a senior. Despite playing in the backfield, she recorded three goals in 2004. She is also on the academic honor roll at Brighton and has 11 brothers and sisters.

"Laura is a defender who is good in the air, has great pace and is comfortable with the ball at her feet," Cairns said. "Because of these strengths, she may also play a little at forward."

THE GOALIE
Ali Griffin, a native of South Jordan, Utah, is a senior at Bingham High School. As a senior at Bingham, Griffin was named first-team all-state as she led her team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. She was also selected first-team all-state as a junior as Bingham captured the state championship. Griffin is on the club team Avalanche, which has won the State Cup the last two years. Fellow Utah State recruits Lacey Christenson and Alyssa Lowry are club teammates of Griffin's. She is also on the honor roll at Bingham.

"Ali is a very talented goalkeeper," said assistant coach Brent Anderson. "She has great reflexes and is very athletic. She has an excellent work ethic and is constantly improving on her technique."