Ladyjacks Lead Club Teams to Regional Tournaments
6/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
June 30, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Proving that commitment to championship-caliber performance has no off-season, eight members of the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team have helped guide their club teams to the regional level on the road to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. Returners Jessica Cotton and Amanda Alders, along with newcomers Brittany Haugen, Crystin Pactor, Lauren Fricks, Jessica Huggins, Kelli Wilson and Erika Palmacci are all members of club teams that have advanced to the regional championships this summer.
Haugen, an incoming freshman midfielder from Littleton, Colo., helped the Colorado Girls Soccer Academy to the USYS Region IV (Far West) Championships in Boise, Idaho, last week. The other seven Ladyjack players currently competing with their various club teams will try to earn a bid to the national championships this weekend at the South Regionals in Little Rock, Ark.
Cotton, a sophomore midfielder from Pearland, Texas, is playing with the Eclipse Soccer Club. Alders, a sophomore forward from Colleyville, Texas, and Huggins, a freshman forward from Frisco, Texas, are both members of the Sting 87' club. Fricks, a sophomore forward who transferred to SFA this spring from Texas Tech, is playing for the Dallas Texans 87' club. Freshman midfielder Wilson and freshman forward Palmacci are both members of the Dallas Texans 88' team, and Pactor, a freshman goalkeeper from Arlington, Texas, plays for the Challenge Soccer Club.
"It's always good to see our players represent their clubs and youth associations at the highest level," SFA head coach Jaime Frias said. "The large number of SFA players at these events is a testament to the quality of athlete our university is attracting."
The 2006 Ladyjack recruiting class was recently ranked 24th in the Central Region by SoccerBuzz.com. SFA's newest crop of recruits was ranked ahead of those signed by the likes of Oklahoma, Houston, Texas, Tulsa, North Texas and Southern Methodist. The Ladyjacks open the 2006 season on Aug. 18 and 19 with exhibition games against SMU and Texas Christian, respectively.
- SFA -
