Soccer Brings In Stellar Recruiting Class

March 23, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Coveleskie announced the addition of 11 student-athletes in the spring signing period.

“This class provides us with both immediate impact players and depth,” said Coveleskie. “They all will help create a great environment. We feel that it is one of the best classes in the country and along with the 14 returning players; we expect to continue to build upon the foundation set here.

Below is the list of signees along with quotes from Coach Coveleskie.

The major need for the team was finding a successor to two-time All-American goalkeeper Tyler Griffin and the coaching staff believe they have found that with Rachel Bachtel, a 5’9 keeper from Dublin, Ohio and Dublin Coffman High. She is listed as a Top 50 National Recruit by Soccer Buzz after recording 47 shutouts and 53 wins in her high school career.

“We feel really fortunate that we have got an immediate impact goaltender coming into the program this year to take over the spot left by Tyler Griffin. Rachel is very technically sound and has played at a very high level with her local and club teams on the state, regional and national level.”

Another Top 50 player is defender Mary Rachel Reynolds of Chattahoochee High in Alpharetta, Ga. She was a National Soccer Coaches Association Youth All-America and helped lead her team to the state playoffs in 2006.

“M.R. is a very hard player and very coachable. She strikes a good ball and has played at a high level with her club team and has been to the national team camp. Mary possesses the physical skills we are looking for.”

Hannah Gonzales, a Top 75 national recruit as a forward, has been a player on the national scene out of Greensboro Day School in Greensboro, N.C. The forward was a NSCAA Youth All-America and played on the Region 3 ODP Team.

“Hannah has great speed and is technical both with her back to goal and when the ball is in front of her. She is very creative, and will present a tough challenge for opposing teams with her pace and skill.”

Molly Kinsella is a Top 150 national recruit from St. Agnes Academy and Memphis, Tenn. She is a forward who earned NSCAA All-Region honors and was a Scholar All-American in 2006. She helped lead St. Agnes to a state title and No. 3 national ranking last year with a 23-0 record.

“Molly is a very physical, tough forward. She will dive for balls in the far post and is a different type of player than we have had as a scorer at Vanderbilt. She is great at finishing inside the 18 and along with Nicole Lukens (rising sophomore) up front adds a whole new dynamic to our team.”

Megan Eddings is a Top 200 national recruit that currently resides in Charlotte, N.C. and attends Providence High. She helped lead Horizon High in Scottsdale, Ariz., to a state title in 2004 and has helped lead her club teams to two state championships. The defender currently plays for the Greensboro Twisters.

“Megan is another national recruit who participated in US National team trials in Los Angeles in January. She is an incredibly hard player. She is great in the air and a great leader. We expect to have her come in and give us a different look that Vanderbilt Soccer needs.”

Kristine Chaklos is a defender that helped lead Novi High in Novi, Mich., to back-to-back state titles in 2005-06. Last season’s team finished No. 1 in the nation with a 24-0 record. She played for the Michigan Hawks club team and helped lead them to four state cup championships in a row.

“Kristine is a good solid very athletic outside back for us. She comes from a very good club team with the Michigan Hawks, and she is going to provide us more depth as an outside player, and is going to be very technical and is going to be very hard on her tackles.”

Taylour Claxton is a midfielder from Kentfield, Calif., and played at Marin Catholic High. She was the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals and 11 assists in 2005 and helped lead her team to league championships from 2004-06. She played for the Bay Oaks, U18 club team and helped them to the 2006 Cal Cup championship.

“Taylour has great size and great pace. She is coming to Vanderbilt as a walk-on and will be an outside attacking player. She is great in one-on-one situations and she can serve the long ball, and hopefully can make some plays with her size and her speed.”

Devan Council is a goalkeeper from Las Vegas, Nev. that played at Phillips Exeter Academy where she helped lead them to back-to-back New England semifinal appearances in 2005-06. She played her club ball with Rebels Select Red in Nevada and helped lead them to four straight state titles. Council was also a guest player on the Honolulu Bulls national champion club team in 2005.

“Devan helped us fill one of our needs at goaltender as we are currently playing without one. She is going to challenge Rachel (Bachtel) day in and day out. She is talented and very athletic and shows a lot of promise.”

Katherine (Katie) Dean is a defender out of St. Andrews School and Boca Raton, Fla. She helped lead team to a regional semifinal appearance in 2006 and quarterfinal showings in 2004-05. She played for the Team Boca club team hat finished as the state runner up in 2003 and 2005 and as the state champion in 2004.

“Katie, like Kristine (Chaklos), will fight for time at outside back and provides us with more depth. We will depend on her to play hard and she should really develop her game in college.”

Megan Kinsella, the twin sister of Molly, is a defender from St. Agnes Academy and Memphis, Tenn. She helped lead St. Agnes to a state title and No. 3 national ranking last year with a 23-0 record. She was the team MVP in 2004 and was a three time all-state selection in 2004-06. She led St. Agnes in scoring with 26 goals and 16 assists as a senior in 2006.

“Megan will give us depth at outside back. She is a fiery competitor that is tough on the tackle. She is a focused player and we are very excited to see her development while here.”

Catherine Wearn is a midfielder from Charlotte Country Day School in Charlotte, N.C. She helped lead the school to a state championship in 2006 after finishing as a state finalist in 2005 and state quarterfinalist in 2004. A three-time all-state selection, Wearn played her club ball for the 88 Greensboro Twisters Green. She helped lead them to the Region III Finals in 2006 and state cup championships this year.

“Catherine is a fundamentally sound player that plays under control at all times. She will continue to improve while here and will challenge for playing time in the future.”

Coveleskie summarizes the class:
“We are going to be young, but these girls don’t lack experience. Everyone of them knows the personality and the commitment needed to win and we think they will help us take our program to the next level.”