A dozen new Wildcats will sport the purple and white come next season for the Abilene Christian soccer team.
Head Coach Casey Wilson knew he needed to recruit at a high level, especially heading to the Southland Conference next season. He recruited heavily in two key categories: competitiveness and depth.
Junior college transfers, Emily Sumrall, Tiffany Ysassi and Nicci Nelson were three of the twelve new signees, and heard great things from the ACU soccer team.
Nelson and Ysassi played with each other at San Diego Mesa College, which is where ACU standouts Anastasia Nelson and Crissy Lawson started their collegiate career before coming to ACU.
Wilson and head coach Todd Curran of SDM have built a strong relationship over the years as Curran has now sent four players to the Wildcat depth chart.
“We’ve had a lot of success with the San Diego Mesa junior college players in the past, and I’ve seen Coach Curran maybe once or twice a year at different tournaments where they feel comfortable sending their players this way,” Wilson said.
Sumrall comes from Navarro College, a team which went 17-3-2 last season reaching its district championship match. She started all 19 matches at midfielder adding nine points as a sophomore at Navarro.
The team lost a few standouts, especially in midfielder Julie Coppedge. Wilson believes in Sumrall to fill Coppedge’s big shoes, but hopes the incoming freshman and current players will make the decision tough on him.
With returning seniors Brie Buschman, Whitley Lindholm, Jacey Ferrara and Andrea; comes a team with a lot of experience and talent. It also beckons the need for some young talent as well.
The players are excited for the new recruits to come in and gel with the rest of the team as the season approaches.
“I’m so excited for those girls to come in and be that perfect piece to the puzzle of our team,” Ferrara said. “I personally think we can do awesome in the Southland Conference, especially with the discipline our coaches have been implementing and the offseason we just had.”
The Wildcats’ 2013 soccer season is scheduled to start August 24 at Oklahoma City.
ACU will hold its first home game at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch on Friday, September 20 vs. Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State.
