July 30, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Erica Walsh of the women's soccer program has announced the signing of three additional recruits. This brings the total for the 2008 class to 12. Prior to the late signees the class was ranked 18th by Soccer Buzz Magazine marking the second top-20 class that Walsh has brought to Happy Valley in as many years.
Joining the nine will be midfielder Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev./Green Valley), defender/midfielder Emma Thomson (Nottinghamshire, England/Retford Oaks) and forward Nikki Watts (Berkshire, England/John O'Gaunt). Thomson and Watts will be traveling across the Atlantic to join the team while Schaefer will take the cross country trip from Las Vegas, Nevada to join the Nittany Lion squad.
Schaefer, a four-year starter for Green Valley, scored 96 goals and 84 assists over her career. She was named the Green Valley team MVP and led her team to four-straight Zone Championships. She also played for the Speedsters of the FCLV and won eight-straight state titles. She was named the team MVP for the U-14 Pro Select International team and was voted student body president her senior year as well as homecoming queen.
Thomson played two seasons with Retford United before moving onto the Doncaster Rovers Belles. She earned league runners-up with Retford her first season before capturing the title her second year. She earned Manager's Player of the Year her second season and won two league titles with the Belles. She was named the Player's Player of the Year and Manager's Player of the Year in her second season with Doncaster and was selected for the U-15 England squad in 2005-06 and made a leap to the U-17 squad in 2006-07. She was also named the Young Player of the Year in 2007.
Watts was a four-year player with Bristol Academy WFC. Her team finished fourth in the league in 2006, `07 and `08 and was Gloucestershire County Cup winners in '06 and '07. The team also was FA Cup semi-finalists in '07. She also played for Filton College from 2006-08 and won the British Colleges Sport National 11-a-side Championship on '07 and '08. The team also took home the English Colleges Football Association National 11-a-side League Championship and Cup Championship in '07. She won the English Colleges Football Association National 5-a-side Cup as well and was the team captain. She scored all four goals in a 4-0 victory over Arsenal Academy in 2007. Her team went unbeaten at the Canadian Soccer Showcase Tournament in Vancouver in March of '08 while she scored 11 of the team's 14 goals. She was invited to England's U-17 and U-19 training camps.