"All in all, this 2008 signing class will take Eagle soccer to a new level. We couldn't be more excited with the addition of each and every one of these players. They will not only make us better in pure soccer terms, but they will make us better from a competitive standpoint," said Aubry. "They are all tremendous fighters and have work ethics that will improve our current standards. This class will certainly help us raise the bar in every way."
The newest student-athletes are midfielder Stephanie Gildehaus (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS), goalkeeper Katie Blevins (Paris, Ky./Bourbon County HS), defender Brittany Kiracofe (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf HS), defender Sarah Phillip (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland HS), defender/midfielder Brittany MacLennan (Troy, Mich./Troy Athens HS), forward Devan Jordan (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central HS), and forward Jillian Birchmeier (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay HS).
Aubry discussed each player in detail and how they will help improve the Eagle program in the coming seasons.
"Stephanie Gildehaus will give our team a tremendous competitive boost in our midfield. She is a strong, physical player with great heart and determination. She will make an impact immediately and is a player that will continue to grow during her career at MSU."
"Katie Blevins is an exciting addition to our goalkeeper position. She is an extremely hard worker and shows great potential to play in the net for us. Katie will certainly give us depth and help create a great goalkeeper training environment."
"Brittany Kiracofe is an amazing athlete with many physical attributes. She is great in the air and extremely fast. We are very certain she will improve our defensive line immediately. She will be exciting to watch in the Fall of 2008"
"Sarah Phillip is wonderfully versatile player that will help us anywhere we need her on the field. As a defender she is patient and very tough to beat on the dribble, as a midfielder she is a great ball winner and distributor, and as a forward she is creative and quick. We are looking forward to seeing all the ways she will make the Eagle soccer team better."
"Brittany MacLennan is a great physical presence on the field. She is also very smart and able to organize a defense quickly. She will undoubtedly improve our backline and defensive midfield position as a freshman. We are thrilled to have Brittany step on the field for us"
"Devan Jordan will bring great excitement to our attack in 2008. She is a very fast forward that likes to scores goals and has great attacking instincts. She is good with her back to pressure and even better faced-up and going to goal. She will definitely be an impact player"
"Jillian is a true diamond in the rough and we couldn't feel luckier to have her joining us in 2008. She is a natural athlete but more importantly a very smart and creative soccer player. She schemes to beat defenses and has a great arsenal of ways to do it. She will certainly give our forward line diversity and will be fun to watch."