GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Coming off one its best seasons in its Division I era, the North Dakota women's soccer team announced the signing of 12 student-athletes in its recruiting class of 2019.
"We are ecstatic about welcoming these 12 magnificent people to UND. After a record-breaking season last year, it was important that we were able to identify some tremendous talent to continue our growth as a program and we certainly believe we have done just that," said Head Coach
Chris Logan.
"We have people in this class who play not only for some of the strongest club teams in their respective region, but also some of the best teams in the entire country, and we feel the ability to attract this pedigree of soccer player demonstrates we are moving in the direction. We are excited about the future."
Of North Dakota's 12 signees, five are from Minnesota while another three are from California. Players from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Wyoming also signed to this year's class.
The Fighting Hawks soccer program is coming off a 9-6-2 season, the most wins by the program in its Division I era, in which UND senior
Katie Moller led the conference in scoring with 15 goals and was named the Summit League's Offensive Player of the Year, as well as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Senior
Olivia Swenson was also named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team, earning third-team honors with a 4.0 in accounting.
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CLASS OF 2019 SIGNEES
Class Breakdown (by state)
Minnesota: 5
California: 3
Arizona: 1
Colorado: 1
Oregon: 1
Wyoming: 1
Hallie Byzewski
Crossfire United Oregon ECNL
Happy Valley, Ore. (Clackamas)
UND Head Coach
Chris Logan on Byzewski: "Hallie is one of two goalkeeping additions in 2019. Similarly to signee Madi Livingston, Hallie is very strong with her feet and that will give us a different dimension when building attacks. Hallie also possesses an incredible goalkeeping instinct to be in the right place at the right time to make saves she that usually are expected to be goals and these types of situations can alter the flow of a game. We will be strong in the goalkeeping department in 2019."
Megan Dohmen
Minnesota Thunder Academy
Eden Prairie, Minn. (Eden Prairie)
Logan on Dohmen: "Megan plays for Minnesota Thunder Academy and is a true competitor. In addition to her competitive edge, Megan is quick, technical, and creative. We believe she will be able to provide us with attacking quality in the wide areas of the field in addition to being a very reliable player defensively."
Stella Fortier
Eclipse Select Soccer Club
Golden Valley, Minn. (Benilde-St.Margaret's School)
Logan on Fortier: "Stella plays for Eclipse Select Soccer Club in Minnesota and is an extremely strong defender. She can play in the middle or on the sides of the back line and reads the game very well. She identifies problems and how to solve them very quickly and at times makes defending look very easy by always being in the right spot. Stella is also very confident on the ball and will be comfortable passing her way out of pressure and allow us to build play."
Lauren Glas
Minnesota Thunder Academy
Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview)
Logan on Glas: "Lauren plays for Minnesota Thunder Academy as a holding midfielder. We believe Lauren will give us a great range of passing ability in the defensive midfielder role and she also possesses a great shot from distance. Lauren can possess the ball over short and long distances, is great in the air, can strike the ball well, and is great at stopping opposition attacks. She will immediately provide competition in the holding midfield role."
Madison Livingston
Real Colorado
Centennial, Colo. (Grandview)
Logan on Livingston: "Madi plays for Real Colorado's ECNL team which is one of the top sides in the nation. We graduated two goalkeepers this past fall and it was vital we were able to replace them with players of the same caliber. Madi is big, strong, very assured in goal, and has great distribution skills. We know she will provide us with strong competition in net this fall."
Bailey McNitt
Legends FC
Chino Hills, Calif. (Reuben S. Ayala)
Logan on McNitt: "Bailey is one of three players from Legends FC and we are thrilled she decided to join us. Bailey is really fun to watch as she has a winning mentality, incredible work ethic, can play with both feet, score goals and create assists. Bailey's understanding of the game is also extremely high as she sees situations developing before others and we know she will adjust to the college game quickly."
Lexi Miller
Eclipse Select Soccer Club
Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove)
Logan on Miller: "Lexi is seriously fun to watch. As an attacking midfield play or a wide forward Lexi is capable of doing a lot of exciting things with the ball. Lexi can pass, dribble, shoot, create and score goals, and has a ton of invention in her game. Her creativity on the field will be a huge benefit to our game and she will blend in perfectly with all of our attacking options."
Maddie Nash
Phoenix Rising FC ECNL
Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral)
Logan on Nash: "Maddie comes from Phoenix Rising ECNL where she receives a first class coaching environment. This is obvious in the way Maddie plays and we know she will give us strong competition in defense. Maddie is a great athlete, strong and quick, but also sees the game very well and is confident with getting her foot on the ball and being able to pass her way out of pressure. She can also play in the midfield and this ability to play several positions will make us stronger in multiple areas on the field."
Grace Roswadovski
Gillette Edge Soccer Club
Gillette, Wyo. (Thunder Basin)
Logan on Roswadovski: "Grace is coming to us from Gillette, Wyoming and is an extremely dangerous attacking player! Grace has great acceleration, is a confident dribbler, finds her way into dangerous positions, and is always a goal threat. Grace is extremely versatile in the way she attacks so defenders will have a difficult time in shutting her down."
Alyssa Sanchez
Legends FC Academy
Redlands, Calif. (Redlands East Valley)
Logan on Sanchez: "Alyssa plays for Legends FC, one of the elite clubs in the nation and we are excited to have her joining us. Alyssa is strong, powerful, and has a relentless drive as a forward that means she will always be hard to play against. She is another player we feel can give us great versatility as she possesses so many outstanding qualities."
Payton Schultz
CC United
Carver, Minn. (Chaska)
Logan on Schultz: "Payton is strong, physical, and a very good ball striker. She can play in the midfield and at the back and will provide us with versatility and an extremely competitive mentality. She also has a great sense of humor and a will be an incredible teammate."
Olivia Valdivia
Legends FC
Chino, Calif. (Diamond Bar)
Logan on Valdivia: "Olivia is outstanding technically and will be a lot of fun for our fans to watch! In addition to her technical prowess, Olivia possesses great vision, flair, and has a keen eye for goal. Being another player from Legends FC, she has played at the highest club level on a national basis and this experience should help her to come in and compete immediately."
