Women's Soccer Signs Six to National Letters of Intent
2/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - DePaul University interim women’s soccer coach Brian Rigby announced the recent signing of six student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent. Stefanie Dohman, Jenna Fagerman, Kelsey Hoinkes, Tiffany Jordan, Janina Locascio and Tara Strickland join the Blue Demons next season as they embark on their third campaign of BIG EAST Conference play.
“I would like to welcome our 2007 recruiting class to the Blue Demon family. This class consists of student-athletes who have competed and been successful on state, regional and national levels with their club and high school programs,” said Rigby. “We have added athletes with great individual talent, skill, speed, and strength. All of our recruits will fit into our philosophy and style of play. These women possess many years of experience and knowledge from being part of high-profile clubs and high school programs. Each of these ladies will make an immediate impact on our program and help us build for a successful 2007 season.”
Dohman was a four-year starter at Munster High School in Munster, Ind. The defender was a two-time first team All-Conference honoree and also added first team All-District and All-Area honors as a senior. She was named team MVP following her senior season and plays club soccer for MSA Mystique Premiere. An outstanding student-athlete, Dohman was a four-year Scholar-Athlete at Munster, two-time All-Academic Team honoree and is a National Honor Society member.
“Stefanie possesses great leadership skills and is an effective communicator,” said Rigby. “She will provide stability in the middle of the field because of her great size and speed. Stefanie is also a ball winner, great in the air and is sound in 1-v-1 situations. She is a competitor and her work ethic is amazing. She will be a great asset to our program and our defensive unit.”
Fagerman, from Grand Rapids, Mich., started every match of her career at East Kentwood High School while playing both as a defender and forward. Entering this Spring, she has totaled 25 goals and 17 assists in three prep seasons. She has earned All-District, All-Conference and All-Area honors twice in her career and picked up honorable mention All-State recognition as a junior. East Kentwood enters the 2007 season ranked No. 6 in the state with Fagerman as captain. The state OPD poll member, has led Grand Valley to the state cup semifinals in each of the last three years. Another all-around student-athlete, Fagerman is a three-year member of the Academic team and is a member of the National Association of High School Scholars.
“Jenna has an amazing competitive drive that goes along with her athleticism. Jenna is very strong and will bring a physical presence to the middle of the field,” said Rigby. “She can destroy plays defensively and can also help create scoring opportunities with her great vision and passing ability. Jenna’s versatility also allows us to use her up top when we need an additional scoring threat. Jenna is a welcomed addition and will complement our defensive unit.”
Hoinkes comes to DePaul from Oswego High School, where she will finish her career as a four-year starting goalkeeper. The two-time All-Conference honoree is also a two-time team captain. Honikes has picked up honorable mention All-Area honors in each of the last two seasons heading into her senior campaign this Spring. Her club team, Strikers Fox Valley, captured titles at Score at the Shore, CASL Raleigh Showcase and CSK in Muscatine.
“Kelsey has great size and is an awesome athlete. She is fearless and very relentless when she is goal. She is the kind of keeper that can make those big saves to keep us in the game,” said Rigby. “Kelsey is very strong and is dominating inside the penalty box. A very organized keeper, she reads and understands the game well. She has very good technical ability and will bring confidence and stability to our back line. We are very excited to add Kelsey to our goalkeeping unit.”
Jordan heads south from Mahtomedi, Minn., where she was a four-year member of the state ODP team. The 2006 Minnesota Player of the Year earned All-State honors on two occasions as a midfielder/forward while leading Mahtomedi High School to a pair of conference titles. Mahtomedi also won the 2004 state championship with Jordan serving as a starter throughout her four-year career. Off the field, Jordan is a seven-time National Speedskating Champion and she plays club soccer for Bangu Tsunami Sota.
“Tiffany is the ultimate competitor,” said Rigby. “She is very determined and doesn’t like to lose. She is a very technical player with great skills and has the ability to beat multiple players on the dribble. Her vision is amazing and her passing is superb. Tiffany is the type of player that can take the game over at any time, but is also the type of player that makes her teammates around her better. She is a playmaker who can play in the midfield or give us a scoring threat up top. We are very thrilled to be adding a player with so much flare and creativity.”
Janina Locascio joins her sister, Dominique, in Lincoln Park next season. As a defender/midfielder, Janina is a three-year starter at Fremd High School in Hoffman Estates, Ill. She plays club soccer for Eclipse Select which has won five straight state championships. In addition to the success at the state level, Eclipse claimed the 2006 Region II and National titles and was a Region II finalist in 2005. Eclipse Select was recently named the nation’s No. 1 club team by Soccer America.
“Janina is very good technically and her skills are excellent. She is solid in 1-v-1 situation, has amazing speed and great pace with the ball,” said Rigby. “She possesses many ball skills which allows her to attack out the back and it makes her very dangerous. She brings a wealth of knowledge, championship experience and strengthens our back line immediately. We are very excited to have Janina onboard. Her ability to attack out of the back and solid defending will bring an added dimension to our defensive unit.”
Strickland also plays club soccer with the successful Eclipse Select that is ranked as the nation’s top club program. The Libertyville, Ill., native was named as one of Chicagoland’s top five midfielders by the Chicago Sun-Times. While playing at Libertyville High School, she has earned All-Conference and All-Sectional honors while also picking up All-Area mention from the Daily Herald. She is also a three-time member of the state ODP team while also being named to the regional and national team pool in 2002.
“Tara possesses great speed, skill and has an awesome work ethic. She is very crafty and has good footskills. She has the ability to beat multiple defenders and is always looking to get in and behind the defense,” said Rigby. Tara’s services from the flank are excellent. She has a wealth of knowledge and championship experience. Tara is very versatile which allows us to use her in a number of positions. We are looking forward to have Tara around the Lincoln Park campus. She will give us instant offensive and will help to jump start our attacking unit.”
The six newcomers head to DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus next season and join the Blue Demons as they take on their third BIG EAST campaign.