Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Women's Soccer Adds to 2011-12 Roster
2/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Feb. 28, 2011
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.- Marshall women's soccer adds seven players to its 2011-12 roster, as announced by head coach Kevin Long. The Thundering Herd welcomes newcomers; Victoria "Tori" Calderhead (Milford, Ohio), Alyssa Cathey (Fort Collins, Colo.), Myka Demarco (Dallas, Texas), Betsy Haugh (Earlysville, Va.), Cecelia "CeCe" Scott (Radford, Va.), Chelsea Stalter (Strongsville, Ohio) and Berengere "Berrie" Aitcheson-Walker (London, England).
Demarco and Cathey will aim to fill the void left by the graduation of Marisa Leconte (Greer, S.C.) and the program's all-time leading goal scorer Erika Duncan (Easthaven, Scotland). Demarco and Cathey are each four-year starters from their respective high schools and have proved to be offensive threats throughout their careers. Demarco, a Dallas, Texas native, is a two-time All-District first team selection and earned All-District second team honors in her freshman season. The 5-4 forward was a three-year captain for a Creekview High School team that won the District Championship during the 2009-10 season.
"Myka is an explosive forward. She has a cannon for a shot, she's got a great explosive step which helps her beat defenders. We'll look for her to make an immediate impact, trying to fill some holes left to us due to graduation in our offensive positions," Long said.
Cathey earned all-conference honors at Rocky Mountain High School after tallying 15 goals during her senior season to help the team to its second-straight state semifinal appearance. The 5-8 forward/midfielder hails from Fort Collins, Colo.
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"Alyssa we saw play as a midfield and forward. We think that she can be a dynamic player on the flank for us, either on the top or in the midfield. She is very crafty on the dribble and has a good shot and seems to read the game very well. She is an exciting player to watch because she is unpredictable with where she goes with the ball," Long said of Cathey.
Aitcheson-Walker will come to Marshall from Stanmore College where she is a member of the Barnet Ladies Football Academy. The London, England native, was elected as a team captain of her high school team and was a South-East England Schools Counties finalist and an English Schools FA Girls Inter County National Cup Runner-Up as a member of the Middlesex FA Centre of Excellence.
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"Berrie is extremely composed and technical central midfielder. She can tackle and has great field awareness and she will be a great asset for us," said Long.
The class heavily features a defensive minded presence as the Herd graduated three members of the its backline last season; Kristen Berquist (Highland Village, Texas), Emma Harrison (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Meghan Wetzel (Aiken, S.C.), who combined for a majority of the defenses minutes last season.
Stalter dabbled in both the midfielder and defender positions during her four-year spell at Strongsville High School. The 5-3 Ohio native earned Best Midfielder honors in 2009 and Best Defender honors in 2008 and 2010. Stalter earned All-Greater Cleveland Honorable Mention at each position and first team all-conference first team honors during her senior season as a defender to earn a trip to the Northeast Ohio All-Star game at Baldwin Wallace College.
"Chelsea we see as a midfielder or as a back. She's quick, she's very poised under pressure, she attacks well, dribbles at space very well and can cause a lot of problems with the ball at her feet but also possibly more importantly she can defend for us, and I think that Chelsea could do a great job for us in that capacity on the outside," Long said.
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Calderhead and Scott each bring in height with their 5-11 frames. Calderhead comes to Huntington from a highly competitive Milford High School. The two-time Fort Ancient Valley Conference first team selection helped her team to three FAVC League Championships, two Sectional Championships and a District Finals during her four-year stint. The Milford, Ohio native, earned All-Southwest Ohio first team honors during her junior season and was an Honorable Mention during her senior campaign.
"Tori we expect to step right in and challenge for a spot among our center backs and solidify that backline, which we've spoken about being different from a year ago," said Long. "She is one of the players that we've watched in the recruiting trail and I'm not sure there is a more composed player. She seems calm all the time and that is because she does a great job at being in the right spot at the right time."
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Scott, a three-sport athlete at Radford High School, brings an athletic and competitive nature to the Herd roster. As a four-year starter, Scott helped her team to district and regional championships three consecutive years and were state runner-ups two of the past three seasons.
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"Cecelia is a strong, tall, ball winner in the air, she's got good mobility, she's going to be fighting for a spot somewhere in the center of our field," Long said.
Haugh comes in as the goalkeeper of the class and will join Lindsey Kerns, Lexa Hughes and Caroline Harwell at the pivotal position. Haugh is a four-year letterwinner at Albemarle High School in Earlysville, Va., where she holds a goals against average of 1.074 for her career. During her junior season Haugh became the first junior to be named team captain in program history and was later named an All-Commonwealth District selection.
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"Betsy brings great athleticism to the goalkeeper position. We are eager to see what she can do for us once she gets here," Long said
The seven fresh faces will join the 22 returners to take on a challenging non-conference schedule and a talented group of Conference USA teams in hopes of returning back to the Conference Tournament come November.
The Thundering Herd will open its preseason schedule at Sam Hood Field against Longwood on August 13th and travel to St. Francis (Pa.) for its season-opener on August 21st.
