March 23, 2007

NEWARK, NJ - `From sea to shining sea' fits the group of eight high school seniors who have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and soccer careers at New Jersey Institute Technology, beginning in the fall of 2007.

The recruited group announced by NJIT women's soccer coach Alyssa Radu includes a player from as far west and north as Washington state (Michelle Borth, M/D, Federal Way, WA/Thomas Jefferson HS) and another from as far south and east as Florida (Xiomara Medina, M/F, Port St. Lucie, FL/Lincoln Park Academy).

Going even farther north, the newcomers include two Canadians (Kyrsten Howell-Harries, M, London, ON/AB Lucas Secondary and Melissa Paul, D, Calgary, Alberta/Henry Wise Wood HS) while the American southwest provides a recruit from New Mexico (Sadie Mele, GK, Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho HS).

Of course, NJIT's recruiting class also includes three New Jersey residents. They are: Amanda Gannon, D, Vernon, NJ/Paramus Catholic HS; Christi Taylor, M/D, Hackensack, NJ/Hawthorne Christian Academy; and, Kori Washington, M, Ewing, NJ/The Pennington School.

The eight new players will join a group of 10 holdovers from the 2006 NJIT team. The recruits will arrive as NJIT women's soccer becomes a full postseason championship-eligible member of NCAA Division I. As such soccer will be the first women's sport and the second overall at NJIT to achieve full Division I status (NJIT men's soccer became Division I championship-eligible in 2005 and the remaining Highlander sports are slated to achieve full Division I championship eligibility in 2009-10.

"These players will raise the level of our team as we take this major step," said Radu, who, along with assistant coach Kevin Leacock continues to recruit, and expects to add still more newcomers in time for the 2007 season.

"They (the recruits) have already shown leadership as captains of their high school and club teams and they all come from good programs, many of which have won or competed for championships," continued Radu. "As a group, they will add to the speed and athletic ability of the team. Most of them have done well in other sports. And they come to us as people who have the ability to make the transition to the next level."

Here is a look at the eight signees (listed alphabetically):

Michelle Borth (Federal Way, WA/Thomas Jefferson HS, Auburn, WA)--a midfielder/defender, she was a two-time all-city selection and also all-league, playing for teams that won the South Puget Sound League crown in both 2005 and 2006.

"She's 5-10 and she's good in the air," said Radu. "She's a good athlete (also plays basketball) and she is strong on the ball."

Borth is an outstanding student who is in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, an elite academic program that is offered in 125 countries. She expects to major in architecture at NJIT.

Amanda Gannon (Vernon, NJ/Paramus Catholic HS)--Gannon earned all-league and all-Bergen County honors on the field and she plans to major in civil engineering at NJIT. "Amanda will help us," said Radu. "She is versatile and hard-working and she is technically sound."

Kyrsten Howell-Harries (London, ON/AB Lucas Secondary)--a center midfielder, she played for the London city school champion, AB Lucas, which finished fourth in Ontario provincial competition her senior year. On the club side, she plays for the strong London City Lightning team, which has won club titles in both Canada and the United States. She also earned a call up to the club's adult team, where she started in five games in 2006. Her planned major at NJIT is communications/education.

She will be the second Ontario resident on the NJIT team, joining Erika Taugher of Oakville, who was a school record-setting player for two seasons before injury limited her to one game played in 2006.

"Kyrsten is a good hard-nosed center mid who plays both ends of the field," said Radu. "She is a good recruit who will transition easily to the next level."

Xiomara Medina (Port St. Lucie, FL/Lincoln Park Academy, Fort Pierce)--the speedy midfielder/forward is another International Baccalaureate scholar who is undecided as to her college major. She was an all-area honoree as a defensive midfielder her junior year and then moved to center forward part way through her senior year, producing three goals and an assist in just her second game in the new position. She is also a three-year varsity track athlete.

"She has the kind of speed that will help her make a smooth transition to Division I college soccer and she is technically sound," Radu said.

Sadie Mele (Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho HS)--the goalkeeper was District I Player of the Year and second team all-state after ranking third in New Mexico Class AAAAA (largest schools) with a 0.55 goals against average as a senior in 2006. Mele made 104 saves and allowed 8 goals.

In addition to soccer, Mele, who plans to major in engineering at NJIT, is a record-setting swimmer and she finished in the top 25 in the New Mexico state high school golf championships. "She's athletic and she has good presence in goal," said Radu. "She will compete with (rising senior) Angelica (Sepulveda).

Melissa Paul (Calgary, Alberta/Henry Wise Wood HS)--the 5-foot-9, who intends to major in chemical engineering at NJIT, has won numerous academic and athletic honors and has played on teams that ranked among the best in Alberta and also placed fifth at the Canadian nationals.

"Melissa gives us another tall, athletic defensive player who also can contribute on the offensive end," said Radu. "She's very composed on the ball, which allows the attack to be built out of the back."

Christi Taylor (Hackensack, NJ/Hawthorne Christian Academy)--the central midfielder/defender earned all-Passaic County honors throughout high school and plans to major in mathematics at NJIT. She is a well-rounded player, according to Radu. "She has good size (5-6) and is strong on the ball," the coach said. "She's technically sound and she sees the game well."

Kori Washington (Ewing, NJ/The Pennington School, Penning, NJ)--the 5-foot-7 outside midfielder has teamed with her twin sister, Keri, to star in both soccer and basketball at Pennington. The twins will both attend NJIT, but Kori signed to play soccer, while Keri was an early signee for basketball. Kori's intended major is management information systems.

Kori was a key player for four New Jersey state Prep A champions at Pennington, which was a combined 70-10-4, with 57 shutouts and two Mercer County titles, plus the four state crowns. "Obviously, she's played in a championship program, so she will bring that to us," said Radu. "She's tall (5-7) and athletic, which will be another plus for us."

NJIT, which, in addition to becoming Division I championship-eligible, will be part of the United Soccer Conference for the first time in 2007. The 2007 regular season opening game is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, September 2 at Long Island University.