Coach Barkus, "This group of young women will absolutely bring a ton to our program; each of the eight players brings unique and high-level abilities to different parts of our lineup, and each is an outstanding person 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. Each of these student athletes competes frequently against the other best players in the region, which makes me believe that they all will be prepared for our league! I'm proud of the relationships both Ashley and I have created with the coaches of these great players, and that they have put their trust in us to provide inspirational and transformative experiences for these young women. We are always looking for student athletes who possess high character as well as exceptional soccer abilities and we believe we can develop both to an even greater level as they matriculate through their college experience at Augustana. The future of Augie Soccer looks incredibly bright by adding these tremendously amazing student athletes, and that makes our staff so exhilarated!!!"
- Addie Fawcett
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
- Lincoln High School
- Kelli Herman, "It's hard to outwork Addie, on the field or in the classroom. She has great mental toughness and a strong will to work hard. This makes her a dangerous defensive midfielder, especially in 1v1 situations. When she steps on the field, she is ready to compete. Addie is very coachable and a team player that is always building everyone up around her. I look forward to watching her continue her academic and soccer career at Augie!"
- Barkus, "Addie is a midfielder and/or 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 strengths are 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 Addis is joining our team next fall!"
- Madelyn White
- Elkhorn, NE
- Midwest Premier Academy
- Gretna High School
- Doug Trenerry, "Madelyn is an extremely smart player, she has excellent speed, great long-range shooting ability, and she has a knack for scoring goals. She can easily use her speed and tenacity to get in behind the opponent. She truly is a dynamic goal scorer. Madelyn is a very positive person and has a great relationship with each of her teammates. At training, she is focused and always striving to become a better soccer player. I am excited to watch Madelyn at Augustana, and I know she will be great!"
- Barkus, "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 into 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 the goal is rare. I feel like she is just so strong and has an innate ability to finish, as she is always looking to stay in and around the box. I love how she moves off the ball and causes problems for opposing defenders. We can absolutely see Madelyn as a player that can come in and add quality to our front line immediately. We believe that she will be an exceptional talent at forward and will make an excellent addition to our program!!"
- Reese Geiger
- Sartell, MN
- CMYSA
- Sartell High School
- Emily Willaert, "Reese is a great athlete with the ability to cover a large amount of ground in the midfield and she also possesses a good burst of speed. She always has her head on a swivel, enabling her to have a good speed of play and break up the opponent's attack. She will continue to be pushed at Augustana, with their fast tempo and difficult conference. We look forward to watching her grow in her playing ability at a great Division II program!"
- Barkus, "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 play box-to-box. We see Reese as a player who will add an attacking threat with her passing ability, leading to assists, thus propelling 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!!!"
- Ellie Hurt
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
- Lincoln High School
- Kelli Herman, "Ellie has been an awesome player to coach because of her dedication to the sport of soccer. She has a high soccer IQ and has great leadership skills. She is able to read plays and direct the traffic in front of her. Her athleticism and technical ability are a lethal combination, which makes it tough for players to get around her. I am excited about her academic and soccer career as an Augustana Viking!"
- Barkus, "One of the first impressions in the recruiting process with Ellie was that she is a highly intelligent defender with amazing versatility, in that she can play both 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 our team model; 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!!"
- Avery Heinz
- Prior Lake, MN
- Salvo Soccer Club
- Lakeville South High School
- Stuart Trench, "Avery is one of the hardest working players that I have ever coached. She played an instrumental part on our team that won the National Championship this past summer. Avery is a leader on both her club and high school teams. Every time she goes out for a practice or a game she will give you everything she has in the tank and is a great influence on her teammates! Myself and the rest of her team are looking forward to following her career as a Viking!"
- Barkus, "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 HS 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 she 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!!!"
- Aaliyah Matthews
- Omaha, NE
- 402 Development Academy
- Millard North High School
- James Abueg, "Aaliyah has been a great leader on and off the field for us over the years. She is a fierce competitor who is respected by her teammates. She is always helping her team get better every day at training. Aaliyah's soccer IQ is remarkable, which allows her to see the whole game and communicate to her teammates effectively. I look forward to watching her on the field for Augustana!"
- Barkus, "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 Aaliyah, we absolutely jumped at the opportunity! Aaliyah has a big presence in the goal and is a quality leader behind her back line. She is a top-notch shot-stopper and has competed against some of the top teams in the region. Aaliyah's enthusiasm and attention to detail truly fits with the culture here at Augie 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 Augie!!!"
- Anabel Hillstrom
- Mahtomedi, MN
- St. Croix Soccer Club
- Mahtomedi High School
- Joe DeMay, "Anabel is the best of both worlds as a defender - she is an outstanding 1v1 defender who is used to shutting down top players, and she is extremely comfortable on the ball, with the ability to break pressure on the pass or dribble. On top of her soccer ability, she is a reliable, caring leader who positively impacts team culture. I am excited to see the impact Anabel will have at Augustana!"
- Barkus, "I am super pumped to be signing Anabel for our team! She is a dynamic midfielder and/or defender who is mobile, good with 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; 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 MN, which will really prepare her well for the next phase of her career!!"
- Ashlyn Kelliher
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Dakota Alliance Soccer Club
- Roosevelt High School
- Corissa Bonte, "Ashlyn is an athlete who is motivated by the desire to be better than her opponent, and even better than herself! Ashlyn is one of the most self-disciplined athletes I know. She has done, and will do, whatever it takes to make herself and the players around her better. I am so excited to watch Ashlyn continue her academic and athletic career at Augustana! She will do great things!!"
- Barkus, "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 that we believe that she can play at an elite level in our back line. The first thing Augie fans will notice with Ash 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!!"