Eight players have signed National Letters of Intent and will be joining Loyola Marymount women¹s soccer in the fall of 2009, Head Coach Joe Mallia announced Wednesday. The class is the largest in Mallia¹s tenure at LMU and comprises goalkeepers Brittany Jagger, Alaina Martin, and Paige Pennington, midfielders Amanda Owens and Cori McGovern, and defenders Jordan Nelson, Kelsey Wilson, and Claire Yearian.

³This is a talented group of players that we are bringing in and we are excited for their arrival in the fall,² Mallia said. ³This class will provide immediate depth to our program as well as the potential for some of these players to come in and make an impact in their freshman years.  Just as important as the potential they have to contribute in the fall of 2009, they will be instrumental in our transition as a program as we graduate a very large senior class next fall.²

The three keepers will come in and add depth to the goalkeeping position as well as begin to prepare for the future as the Lions are set to graduate the core of their returning keepers over the next couple of years. Alaina Martin helped lead Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado, to the 2007 state playoffs, earning First Team All-Centennial League and Second Team All-Region honors in the process. A three-time all-league selection, Martin was team captain in her junior and senior seasons. While playing club soccer for Real Colorado, Martin won the 2005 and 2006 Colorado State Championship before taking her new club team, Colorado Rush Nike, to the 2008 state finals. Martin was a member of the 2005-06 Colorado state ODP pool and was a First Team Academic All-State selection in 2007-08.

³Alaina comes to us having played for two of the best club programs in Colorado - Real Colorado and Rush - which says a lot about her ability as a goalkeeper,² Mallia said. ³From the get-go, Alaina was very interested in LMU and that is a great sign for us to have a player that steps into our program who is just truly excited about being here on all levels. She has the potential to be a leader both on and off the field and we can¹t wait to have her as part of the program.²

Another highly-decorated goalkeeper, Brittany Jagger will arrive at LMU in the fall from Allen High School in Dallas, Texas. In 2007, Jagger was the District 9-5A Goalkeeper of the Year and an All-Collin County selection as she led the Eagles to the district, bi-district, area, and region
championships. Playing for the Dallas Texans 91 Red club team, Jagger won back-to-back US Youth National Championship Golden Glove Awards as she led her club to the 2008 National Championship and the 2007 National Final. She also helped the Texans win Premiere League titles in three straight years, the NTX State Cup in 2007 and 2008, and the Region III Championship in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

³Brittany brings a wealth of big game experience, having competed in two national championship games and was instrumental in her team winning this past summer¹s national championship game in penalty kicks.  Brittany has quick reflexes; she is a great shot stopper and has soft hands. We are excited about her addition to our program.² Paige Pennington will be the third goalkeeper to join LMU next fall, arriving from St. Lucy¹s Priory High School in Glendora, California. Pennington played for Irvine Strikers U-19 club and the Claremont Stars. She is an outstanding all-around athlete, earning high school letters in basketball as well as soccer.

³Paige exudes everything you want in a player: heart, confidence, resiliency,² Mallia said. ³She is going to work extremely hard to become the
best goalkeeper she can be and our staff is really excited to work with her.²

Three back-line players will help fill the void left by the graduation of all-conference defenders Amanda Lernor and Shannon Omahen. Jordan Nelson led Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California, to league championships in 2005 and 2007, earning all-league honors in each of her first three seasons. As a freshman, Nelson was First Team All-Garden Grove League and Third Team All-CIF ­ Division V, repeating the latter honor as a sophomore. Last season, she was the Empire League Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-CIF. On the club side, she has been the team captain of Wolfpack SC the last three seasons. She was a Cal South ODP pool player in 2003 and 2007, winning the Region IV ODP title in 2008. Recently, she participated as a member of the Region IV U-17 team at the inter-regional competition in Mississippi.

³Jordan is one of those players that keeps getting better and better,² Mallia said. ³She has a great work ethic and we are excited to get her on
campus to work with her. In addition to her hard work, she is good on the ball and a good ball winner, two traits we are looking for in a center
back.²

Kelsey Wilson is a three-time All-South Coast League selection out of San Clemente High School, earning First Team All-League honors in 2007 and 2008. Last year, she was First Team All-CIF and First Team Division I as San Clemente won the CIF championship. A member of the SoCal Blues Soccer Club, Wilson and her team won the 2007 National Championship and repeated as state and regional champs in 2008. She was a Region IV ODP team player and teamed up with Nelson on the Cal South 91 ODP team that won its regional championship.

³Kelsey is another individual that has played in some big-time games from national championships to international matches with the Region IV ODP team,² Mallia said. ³She is a very technical player that will help us play the game out of the back and on the defensive side she is very smart.³

A defender/midfielder, Claire Yearian comes to LMU from Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington, where she was a three-time Narrows League Champion. Yearian earned all-league honors in 2006, 2007, and 2008, adding to her collection with First Team All-Area and First Team All-State selections in 2008. Yearian also has extensive club and ODP experience, winning the Washington State title in 2008 with Washington Premier FC ¹90. Her club team also was US Club Regional finalists in 2005 and 2006. Yearian was also a member of the Washington state ODP team and Region IV camp in 2005.

³We are really excited to add Claire to our 2009 freshman class.² Mallia said. ³Although we have primarily seen her play at the back we feel she is versatile enough to play just about anywhere in the midfield as well. She is good on the ball, very smart and has a great work ethic. Claire will fit nicely into the brand of soccer we look to play.²

The LMU midfield will welcome the addition of Amanda Owens and Cori McGovern, both of whom played at Monta Vista High School in Livermore,
California. The pair took MVHS to East Bay Athletic League titles in 2007 and 2008, as well as the CIF-NCS semifinals in 2008 and finals in 2007.
Individually, Owens was an all-league selection last year while McGovern garnered league recognition as a sophomore and junior while being named all-region in 2007. Both also currently play for the Mustang Mavericks club team that won the 2008 Surf Cup. Prior to that, McGovern won the NorCal Championship with the Mavericks in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008 while Owens was a teammate of current Lions Marissa Zamora and Gabby Parisella on the Mustang Fury. Owens also has extensive ODP experience, joining the U-14 National Pool in 2005, playing for the Region IV team from 2005-08, and with the Cal North state team since 2004.

³When you think of Cori as a soccer player the first thing that comes to mind is Œball winner¹, Mallia said. ³We have really enjoyed watching her
play through the recruiting process and cannot wait for her to arrive on campus in August. In addition to her ball-winning abilities she is composed on the ball, a leader and a fierce competitor.  She is also known on occasion to sneak her way into the attack from her holding mid position and stick the ball in the back of the net, whether it be from a set piece or in the run of play. Our future is bright with Cori in our program.

³In Amanda we bring in another player that will help us play the possession style of soccer we strive for.  She is very tidy on the ball as well as a
great distributor of the ball.  We look for Amanda to come in and play in an attacking position for us either in the midfield or up top. She seems to get better and stronger each time we see her play and that is a positive sign for her and us.²

³We surely do not look forward to the day that our rising seniors finish their careers here at LMU but we know we will be in good hands when that day comes due in part to these players that will arrive in August,² Mallia added.

The eight incoming players will help offset the loss of six seniors from LMU¹s 2008 squad. The Lions went 10-6-3 last year, finishing third in the
West Coast Conference at 5-2-0.