March 23, 2002

BERKELEY, CALIF. - The Atlantic Coast, Pacific 10 and Big East conferences pulled in the lion's share of top prospects in the women's college soccer recruiting wars this season, with North Carolina, UCLA and Virginia luring the most impressive classes.

Soccer America's 2002 Top 10 Recruiting Classes features no teams outside the ACC, Pac-10 and Big East after a vast majority of the top national-level talent available, plus at least one big-name foreign player, signed or committed to programs in the three conferences.

Four ACC programs and three each from the Pac-10 and Big East comprise the SA Top 10. In addition, California (Pac-10) and Maryland (ACC) recruited strong classes but did not make the list.

It was largely a matter of the strong getting stronger. North Carolina, a 17-time national champ and runner-up in 2001, always signs a class at or near the top, UCLA and Virginia were NCAA quarterfinalists last year, and both are expected to compete for the national title next fall.

The ACC and Pac-10 are considered the top two women's soccer conferences in the nation, the Big East, which features perennials Notre Dame and Connecticut, is climbing among the seven power conferences.

All but one incoming freshman who played for the U.S. U-19 team last year signed with the big three. The lone dissenter was midfielder Julianne Stitch, who inked with DePaul. Foreign signings helped several programs, including those at UCLA, Penn State, UW Milwaukee and Texas Tech. The Red Raiders, not among the more fancied programs in college women's soccer, netted Danish U-19 forward Johanna Rasmussen.

The West Coast Conference, chief rival to the ACC and Pac-10, did not fare nearly as well. Reigning Division I champion Santa Clara, which started six freshmen in its title-game victory over North Carolina last December, needed little, its recruiting class featured one regional-level player. Semifinalist Portland, which returns its four pivotal players, has signed just one player and may not complete its class until late spring.

Others reporting strong classes included Ohio State and Illinois (Big Ten), BYU (Mountain West) and Furman (Southern) and Loyola Marymount (WCC).

SOCCER AMERICA TOP 10 COLLEGE WOMEN'S RECRUITING CLASSES

1. NORTH CAROLINA/Atlantic Coast

Anson Dorrance reloaded again, claiming three of the top five players in the country and five of the top 10. Two of them have full national team experience: Lori Chalupny, an attacking midfielder who can play centrally or on the wing, and defender Amy Steadman, who is coming off a torn ACL. The third is forward Lindsay Tarpley, who U.S. U-19 coach Tracey Leone says has "in the last five months catapulted herself to a different level. ... She tactically puts it together for us." They are among five U-19 players and Parade magazine All-American selections (four of them also selected NSCAA Youth All-Americans) en route to Chapel Hill. The others are defender Kendall Fletcher -- who joins fellow North Carolina native Steadman on the U-19 starting back line -- and midfielder Kacey White. The Tar Heels' eight-player class includes five from North Carolina -- it's Dorrance's best in-state group -- including goalkeeper Tyler Griffin and forwards Corinne Black and Brynn Hardman.

2. UCLA/Pacific 10

The Bruins got the nation's top recruit, midfielder Jill Oakes, a U-19 standout whose late goal against Germany vaulted the U.S. U-21 team into last summer's Nordic Cup championship game. Oakes, a Parade/NSCAA All-American and Gatorade's national player of the year, is a holding midfielder who is, Coach Jillian Ellis says, "physically and tactically at a point where she can control the tempo of a game." She'll be complemented in center midfield by playmaker Stacy Lindstrom, another U-19 player with U-21 experience and Parade/NSCAA acclaim, who graduated high school a year early to join the Bruins. And Ellis also nabbed Iris Mora, the star striker for Mexico's national team, and two more U-19 players -- forward Katie Rivera and NSCAA All-American midfielder Allie True.

3. VIRGINIA/Atlantic Coast

Steve Swanson, whose 2001 class was widely considered the nation's best, follows up with another superb bunch, including four Parade All-Americans and six players who are or have been part of the U-19 pool. The biggest name is three-time NSCAA High School All-American forward Kristin Weiss, an exceptional goalscorer who played for the full U.S. national team at the 2001 Algarve Cup. She and midfielder Noelle Keselica, also with a U/19/Parade/NSCAA r¿sum¿, seem the Cavs' choicest signings, but both have slipped in the past year and are no longer first-choice U-19 players. They'll benefit working with Swanson, the U.S. U-16 coach. Midfielder Sarah Huffman, with like credentials, is "a winner" (says Leone) with tremendous work rate, but she's coming off two foot surgeries in the past year. More midfield talent -- Kelly Hammond, also among the Parade/NSCAA/U19 quartet, and former U-19 pool players Nikki Lieb and Julie Napolitano -- rounds out the class, with Region I player Kara Frederick expected to walk-on.

4. ARIZONA STATE/Pacific 10

Ray Leone's first full class in Tempe is a superb one, led by U-19 midfielder Manya Makoski, a player U-19 coach Tracey Leone -- Ray's wife -- calls "a big-timer." Makoski, from Trumbull, Conn., is a late-bloomer who has blossomed since last summer, she possesses great speed ("Runs like a cheetah," Tracey Leone says) and skill and is best employed on a flank. She's just one of three Parade/NSCAA All-Americans and U-19 pool players joining the Sun Devils. The others: midfielder Brittany Cooper, the NSCAA's New Mexico Player of the Year, and defender Stephanie Ebner. Three forwards -- Region IV pool players Elizabeth Bogus, the NSCAA Utah Player of the Year, and Haley Stein, and Arizona ODP state player Kacey Shaub -- complete the group.

5. BOSTON COLLEGE/Big East

Alison Foley has assembled a top-notch bunch, possibly the best the Eagles have ever recruited. Parade All-Americans Katie McGregor and Kate Taylor, both with U-19 experience, lead the eight-player class, which also includes ODP national pool defender April Joy Millardo and former national pool forward Kelly Lavery, both out of the San Fernando Valley. McGregor, a forward, is a three-time NSCAA High School All-American and a two-time Parade pick, Taylor, Gatorade's Wisconsin Player of the Year, is the No. 1 goalkeeper in the national 2002 class. Also on board: Region I midfielders Ashley Hawkins and Mary Zider. The signing of Zider, the NSCAA Vermont Player of the Year, has not been announced by BC.

6. STANFORD/Pacific 10

Andy Nelson's class isn't big on numbers, but he picked up dynamite defensive talent, all of it from Southern California. Hayley Hunt (Parade) and Jenny Farenbaugh (NSCAA) are All-Americans and U-19 pool defenders, and Lindsey Hunt -- Hayley's twin -- is a USYSA national-level player. All are extremely versatile and athletic. The Hunt twins are coming off ACL tears, although Hayley has recovered and participated in the national ODP championships earlier this month in Dallas. Nelson also expects to bring in four non-scholarship players, including NSCAA Academic All-American Leah Tapscott.

7. CONNECTICUT/Big East

Forward-midfielder Kristi Lefebvre and forward Brittany Barakat highlight Len Tsantiris' fine foursome. Lefebvre, a U-19 pool player last year, was a two-time NSCAA High School All-American, the diminutive Texan Barakat, a Parade and NSCAA Youth All-American, hasn't yet completed the admissions process. National pool goalkeeper Megan Jessee and Region I defender Alisse Kosloski, both from Pennsylvania, add depth in the back.

8. DUKE/Atlantic Coast

The Blue Devils bulked up on defense with NSCAA Youth All-Americans Kate Seibert and Heidi Hollenbeck and Region I player Carolyn Ford. Seibert also is a Parade selection, and Hollenbeck -- who also plays in midfield -- saw action with the U-19s last year. Robbie Church also signed midfielder Shelly Marshall, in the U-19 pool in 2001, and regional-level midfielder Carmen Bognanno and forward Carolyn Riggs.

9. NOTRE DAME/Big East

Central midfielder Annie Schefter, a Parade/NSCAA honoree, is an emerging standout with the U-19s, a player Tracey Leone says has "taken a big jump" since last summer. She's the big name in Randy Waldrum's group, which also features Canadian U-19/U-17 midfielder Katie Thorlakson and national-level goalkeeper Erika Bohn.

10. CLEMSON/Atlantic Coast

Parade/NSCAA All-America selection Allison Graham, a midfielder on the U.S. U-19 squad, tops Todd Bramble's five-woman class, she's among the nation's Top 10 recruits. Joining her with the Tigers is club/high school teammate Lindsey Wegrzyn, a Region III ODP player. The Tigers also nabbed another Region III pool player (Lydia Vanderbergh), a Region IV camp participant (Candace Hein) and a Northern California pool player (Robyn Shelby).