SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana soccer team signed eight future Vikings on National Signing Day on Wednesday morning. Student-athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Augustana University. Wednesday is the first day of the signing period for all NCAA soccer programs and the athletes are planning to enroll in the fall of 2023.
"This group of young women will absolutely bring a ton to our program, each of the eight players bring unique and high-level abilities to different parts of our lineup, and each are outstanding people with wonderful family support. I love that they are all ferocious competitors and come from some of the region's best soccer clubs where each has received great coaching with high determination and attention to detail to win," said head coach Brandon Barkus. "Each of these student athletes compete frequently against the other best players in their Region, which makes me believe that they all will be prepared for our league! I'm proud of the relationships that both Ashley and I have created with the coaches of these great players, and that they have put their trust in us to provide an inspirational and transformative experience like current and past players have received here at Augustana!
"We are always looking for student athletes who possess high character as well as high soccer abilities and we believe we can develop both to an even greater level as they matriculate through their college experience. Augie soccer's future looks incredibly bright by adding these tremendously amazing student athletes, and that makes our staff so exhilarated!"
Addie Fawcett | Midfielder | 5-7 | Sioux Falls, S.D. | Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
Barkus on Fawcett: "Addie is a midfielder and defender who brings that rare combination of technical ability and athletic grittiness! Plus, since she is a gifted and versatile athlete she will have the ability to help us in many roles and phases of the game. Her strength is being a great ball-winner along with being a possession-based player. One of the challenges for our team over the past couple seasons has been our ability to be both intense and composed simultaneously. I believe that Addie will immediately improve our team in this regard based on her intelligence and high determination to be great! I couldn't be more thrilled that Addie is joining our team next fall!"
High School: Fawcett will graduate from Lincoln High School in May of 2023. She is a three-year starter for her high school team and was named to the Metro All-Conference First Team as a senior. Fawcett helped her team to the state semi finals in three consecutive years.
Reese Geiger | Midfielder | 5-9 | Sartell, Minn. | CMYSA
Barkus on Geiger: "Reese is an athlete! She plays as a central midfielder that can find the gaps in a backline with her passing ability. She has the mobility to cover a lot of ground and is fit enough to be playing box-to-box. We see Reese as a player who will add an attacking threat with her passing ability, as well as assists, to propel the team deeper into the postseason. We have high hopes that Reese will add value to this squad immediately as a technical and creative attacking midfielder with exceptional ball handling skills, and the vision to break lines of our opponents. With her high energy and passion, I believe that Reese will be a true asset to our team!"
High School: Geiger will graduate from Sartell High School in June of 2023. As a senior, she netted 10 goals and had five assists, helping her team to a conference championship and a record of 16-1-1. She was also an All-Conference selection in 2022.
Avery Heinz | Forward | 5-7 | Lakeville, Minn. | Salvo Soccer Club
Barkus on Heinz: "Avery is an incredibly fast and dangerous attacking force, plus she is such a hard-working attacking player who can find really great spaces in and around the box! She is one of those players that just runs past and away from opponents, setting up dangerous scoring situations for her team. She has been an outstanding wide player for both her club and high school teams this past year, and I can't wait to see what she does for us on the field! I feel that she truly is a nightmare for opposing defenders, and has received some awesome coaching with her club experiences! I also just love how Avery is such a great culture athlete with a strong personality! Avery is going to tear it up in our league!"
High School: Heinz will graduate from Lakeville South High School in June of 2023. She is a two-year starter and was the leading goal scorer for her team as a senior. In 2022, Heinz helped her team to a section championship and a third place finish in the conference. Individually, Heinz earned all-conference honors and was named to the MSHSL all-tournament team.
Anabel Hillstrom | Midfielder | 5-4 | Mahtomedi, Minn. | St. Croix Soccer Club
Barkus on Hillstrom: "I am super pumped to be signing Anabel for our team! She is a dynamic midfielder and or defender who is mobile, good on the ball, and creates opportunities for her team. I love that she is super competitive, has a high work rate to go with it, and she is a student athlete of high character who is going to continue to build our team culture. Anabel also brings a strong tactical presence with her, and her technical abilities are excellent, and it is these abilities which will help her succeed at this level early on in her career! She has been playing at an extremely competitive level in Minnesota, which will really prepare her well for the next phase of her career!"
High School: Hillstrom will graduate from Mahtomedi High School in June of 2023. As a senior, she helped her team to a state runner up finish and a conference championship. She earned all-conference honors and she was voted best attitude by her teammates. Hillstrom was also a three-year starter in high school and a two-time team captain.
Ellie Hurt | Defender | 5-8 | Sioux Falls, S.D. | Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
Barkus on Hurt: "One of the first impressions in the recruiting process with Ellie was that she is a highly intelligent defender with amazing versatility, she can play centrally or as an outside back. She's hyper-competitive, has excellent pace, and possesses a high level soccer IQ. I absolutely love that she is athletic, good with the ball, tough defensively, and like I said, extremely competitive. I really believe that soccer is a true priority for her, and I feel that makes her an excellent fit for us and in our team model, and she'll be able to step in right away and impact our program! We look forward to helping her maximize her abilities in the Navy and Gold!"
High School: Hurt will graduate from Lincoln High School in May of 2023. She was a four-year starter and a two-time team captain for her high school and earned all-state honors as a senior. Hurt also garnered metro all-conference and scholar athlete honors as a junior and senior.
Ashlyn Kelliher | Defender | 5-9 | Sioux Falls, S.D. | Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
Barkus on Kelliher: "Ashlyn has a big presence and personality on and off the field! She is really good with both feet and has a strong defending presence, however her ability to contribute to the attack is second to none. She can be a difference-maker on the field, because of her perseverance and pure speed and we are eager to help her grow in her assertiveness as a player. Plus, Ashlyn is just so dynamic and we believe that she can play at an elite level in our back. The first thing Augustana fans will notice with her is her size and athleticism. She'll bring some more bite to our defense and soccer IQ which I am very excited about! Ashlyn has a super bright future in an Augustana Vikings uniform!"
High School: Kelliher will graduate from Roosevelt High School in May of 2023. As a senior, she contributed one goal and four assists, helping her team to six shutout victories. Kelliher was named an all-state honorable mention and was named to the Metro all-conference first team.
Aaliyah Matthews | Goalkeeper | 5-11 | Omaha, Neb. | 402 Development Academy
Barkus on Matthews: "As a coaching staff we are always chasing the next "Big time GK'' and when presented with the opportunity to bring in a high level/top-caliber goalkeeper like Aailyah, we absolutely jumped at the opportunity! Aailyah has a big presence in goal and is a quality leader behind her backline. She is a top-notch shot-stopper and has competed against some of the top teams in the region. Aailyah's enthusiasm and attention to detail truly fits with the culture here at Augustana and what we are trying to build. She is determined to make an impact and is definitely going to raise the overall environment for the GK corps, and we are so excited to get her to Augustana!"
High School: Matthews will graduate from Millard North High School in May of 2023. During her junior season, Matthews recorded 125 saves and made all starts for her team. She garnered academic all-state honors and was a team captain.
Madelyn White | Forward/Midfield | 5-4 | Gretna, Neb. | Midwest Premier Academy
Barkus on White: "Early on in the recruiting process it was clear that Madelyn is the absolute definition of a competitor as she is such a versatile forward with a nose for the goal! She shoots well with both feet and is very good at bringing others in the attack. Her ability to play in both wide positions and in the middle will allow us to have greater flexibility in our attack! Also, I'm not sure there was a game where we evaluated Madelyn that she didn't score a goal for her club team. She's excellent, just really amazing, and her composure in front of goal is rare. I feel like she is just so strong and like I mentioned, has an innate ability to finish, as she is always looking to stay in and around the box. I love how she moves well off the ball as well, causing problems for opposition defenders. We can absolutely see Madelyn as a player that can come in and add quality to our front line immediately and believe that she will be an exceptional talent at forward that will make an excellent addition to our program!"
High School: White will graduate from Gretna High School in May of 2023. As a junior, White contributed four goals and four assists and helped her team to a second consecutive state championship title and an undefeated season. Her team was also ranked third in the country by Women's Sports. In her sophomore season, White netted 14 goals and added 17 assists, totaling 65 shots on goal.
–GoAugie.com–
