Utah Avalanche soccer team celebrates college signings
Published on Feb 6, 2012 06:19PM
While Signing Day was a big event for Utah's high school football stars, they were not the only athletes celebrating.
The girls' soccer players from the Utah Avalanche celebrated the day at Hidden Valley Country Club. It was the culmination of years of training, ever since the players were 8 years old.
The U-18 group has been ranked as high as the No. 8 club squad in the country. Including two players who graduated last year, and pending junior Emily Bruder's signing with Stanford, every athlete on the team will sign with a Division I program.
"This group is extremely talented, no question," coach Joanna Barney said. "A lot of great players have come through this program, and since they were little, they've had these girls to look up to and try to emulate. And they've gone out and become the best Utah has to offer, playing under the same banner."
The girls had dinner before signing their NLIs together. Each player had a sweatshirt from their future school, and the pens they signed with were engraved with the school's name as well, Barney said.
Some of the players are heading to prestigious out-of-state programs, but many will also play locally. A lot of the signees should be familiar from their high school exploits:
Taylor Campbell, Alta • BYU
Lexi Felis, Brighton • UVU
Audrey Gibb, East • Oregon State
Maris Hamblin, Lone Peak • Utah State
Paige Hunt, Bountiful • BYU
Kassidy Kellogg, Brighton • Sacramento State
Alyssa Meinzer, Lone Peak • UNLV
Megan Millerberg, Alta • UVU
Alexis Peterson, Bountiful • UNLV
Lexi Selman, Alta • Arizona
Sammi Swan, Davis • Utah
Megan Trabert, East • Utah
Jeannie Woller, Waterford • Utah State
Madison Wood, Northridge • SUU
Barney said her emotions were stirring during the ceremony, as she was hit by both pride and some sadness.
"I think of these girls as my kids — you spend so much time with them, and you form these relationships," she said. "It's bittersweet to see them go. But you built them into these players, you prepared them for this moment. No one got left behind."
— Kyle Goon
kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon
