Just a few days after national signing day, Lee University soccer head coach Chris Hennessey announced the addition of five new players that returned their letters of intent to join the team for the fall of 2016.
“The addition of the five new players will certainly help add to the depth and quality of the team next season,” said Hennessey. The new signees are:
Carly Smoltz; Alpharetta, GA, Kings Ridge Christian School
Laila Dilts; Carmel, IN, Guerin Catholic High School
Nicole Ford; Ooltewah, TN, East Hamilton High School
Emma Higgins; Chattanooga, TN, Notre Dame High School
Emily Baker; Essex, England, Great Baddow High School
Hennessey will enter his second season as head coach of the Lady Flames and looks to add more depth to the roster by bringing in five players who have experience of playing at very high levels with their respective club teams.
"I am really happy with the five commitments we are bringing in,” Hennessey stated.
“They will certainly add to the strength and depth of our roster. Last year we were pretty thin throughout the majority of the season given all the injuries that occurred. This year not only are we adding more numbers, but all of them will certainly push to play and will most definitely improve our roster from top to bottom. Overall this is a great group who want to succeed at Lee."
Hennessey noted that the Lady Flames only graduated one player from the 2015 team, Laura Thacker. “Laura will no doubt be a big loss for the team, but the encouraging fact is they return everyone else; and with the team's late season run through conference play and getting a bid into the NCAA tournament, next season should be another exciting one for the Lady Flames.”
This year's class consists of players from three different states, with local players Higgins and Ford coming from Tennessee, Dilts joining from Indiana, and Smoltz joining from Georgia. Baker will be joining the team from England after having a lot of success over there with her current club team, Brighton & Hove Albion. The Lady Flames ability to recruit on a national and international level has always proven to be a key part of the team's success.
Lee relied heavily on its freshman and sophomores in 2015 (including red-shirt sophomores), with those 14 players seeing significant playing time and combining for 161 starts on the year. The five new additions will join a team whose players have seen considerable playing time over the past year or two, which will certainly help them settle in and adapt during their first year.
Hennessey summed up his feeling on the class by stating, "If you look at this class you will see players with a lot of regional experience and who have played in many championship quality matches. What stands out to me the most, much like our classes in the past, is the energy and enthusiasm they are coming in with. All of these players excel academically and chose Lee because of the quality of education and all around experience they believe they will enjoy”