Women’s soccer acquires strong talent through transfer portal
The Wolverines will bring in 14 new faces as they gear up for another big run in the 2023 season.
The Utah Valley University women’s soccer team coaching staff has been active in the offseason, gathering an abundant amount of talent to bolster a Wolverine squad that made the NCAA Tournament and went 14-5-3 in the 2022 season.
UVU Head Coach Chris Lemay and his staff have signed five transfers via the portal and have brought on nine players coming out of high school, with most of them prepping in Utah.
Lemay kicked off the transfer class by bringing in former University of Arizona forward Quincy Bonds and Fresno State University midfielder Jaylyn Wright in early December. Between Bonds and Wright, the Wolverines are adding 84 games of experience, with 31 of those games started.
Additionally, the Wolverines have added Salt Lake Community College star midfielder, Jordan Roe, along with Lipscomb University goalkeeper CJ Graham and Lamar University graduate transfer defender/midfielder Abby Gemza.
During her 2022 campaign with SLCC, Roe was named to the NJCAA All-America First Team, named to the Region 18 First Team, and she won the Region 18 Tournament MVP trophy. Graham started 41 games, accumulating a record of 24-10-5 in three seasons of play for Lipscomb with 21 of her wins being shutouts and amassing a .818 save percentage. Gemza started in 15 games for Lamar in 2022 en route to helping the Cardinals clinch an NCAA Tournament berth after winning a Southland Tournament title.
As for the signing class, the Wolverines were able to recruit Sadie Beardall, Cortney Cobabe, Greta Davis, Macy Ellis, Ashley Garcia, Nixan Jackson, Bailey McArthur, Emily Miner, and Elle Young. In a class of many talents, the incoming freshmen have accumulated 233-plus goals and 99-plus assists as a whole in their preparatory days.
Talent should not be an issue for 2022 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Chris Lemary as the Wolverines bolster a squad that already returns cornerstone players Heather Stainbrook and Jenna Shepherd, who won WAC Offensive Player of the Year and WAC Defensive Player of the Year last season, respectively.
As the 2023 schedule is yet to be announced, the Wolverines are currently competing in their spring season as they prepare for their next campaign. UVU will compete against the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, April 1, at 1 p.m. MT. The Wolverines will then return home the following week to welcome WAC and in-state rival, the Utah Tech Trailblazers, in a doubleheader on April 8.
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Sophomore at UVU. Writer for the UVU review, statistician for UVU ESPN+, and play-by-play commentator for UVU Men’s Lacrosse.