Marshall University Athletics
Herd Women’s Soccer Adds Four to 2021 Signing Class
11/12/2020 2:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Herd women's soccer head coach Michael Swan announced the addition of four student-athletes to the 2021 signing class as Ava Hall, Alyssa Hardin, Kayla Denney and Makenzie Lipscomb signed NLIs with Marshall on Thursday.
"It's been a lot of hard work, working through the COVID-19 pandemic," Swan said about the signing of the class. "It's a smaller class right now, but we're planning on adding more student-athletes to it. It's class with a lot of talent. We have some good players coming in. Some goal scorers and wide players that will impact the squad."
Ava Hall
Scott Depot, W.Va.
Winfield High School
WVFC
Hall was named the 2020 A/AA West Virginia State Player of the Year. Some of her other honors include being named a 2020 First-Team All-State Midfielder, 2020 First-Team All-Region, being named to the USYS East Region ODP - 2003 Girls International Team, the 2019 West Virginia Midfielder of the year and 2019 First-Team All-State Midfielder among several other honors. Hall also excelled in the classroom achieving a 4.25 GPA, being a member of the National Honor Society, going to 2020 Girls State, being in Beta Club and Key Club.
"Ava Hall joins us from West Virginia. She's been a predominant player in the state, both in high school and at the club level. She's very versatile. She can play anywhere in the midfield. She can play wide as an attacking player as a number 10. She's certainly a player who has creativity and can find a pass in the final third," Swan said about Hall on the pitch.
Alyssa Hardin
Royersford, Pa.
Agnes Irwin School
Steel United, PA
Hardin has accumulated many athletic honors during her high school and club career, including a pair of East Region Championships in 2017-18 for ODP, being the captain of her club team from 2018-20 and being her high school's captain during the 2020 season. She also led her club in points since 2014 and her high school in points since 2019. She doesn't just excel on the pitch, but also excels in the classroom as she has a 3.8 GPA, is a National Honor Society candidate and was a member of the 2019 Inter-Academic All-League Team.
"Alyssa comes to us from Pennsylvania. She is a fantastic goal scorer. She's a player I think who fell under the radar in the recruiting process. We have to thank assistant coach Austin O'Connor on this one. He certainly worked hard trying to find her and find footage on her. Not only does she have a great eye for goal, but it's her ability to get out of tight spaces and create that little yard of space to give herself the opportunity to create a chance. Alyssa comes from a great family. She is very enthusiastic to come her," Swan commented on Hardin's abilities.
Kayla Denney
Millstown, N.J.
Allentown HS (NJ)
Player Development Academy
Denney helped lead Allentown High School to the 2017 Group 3 New Jersey State Championship, three division titles (2017, 2018, 2019), a sectional title in 2019 and three MCT finals appearances (2017, 2018, 2019). She has also racked up individual awards including being named Third-Team CVC All-Trentonian and being an honorable mention on the Coaches All-CVC by NJ.com.
"Kayla is joining us from New Jersey. She plays for PDA (Player Development Academy). She's a wide player who's big, strong and athletic. She creates chances. She'll be a player who torments fullbacks on the opposing team. She can play on both sides of the pitch. She's had a fantastic high school and club career. She's accumulated some great accolades and also comes from a great family," Swan said of Denney.
Makenzie Lipscomb
Wake Forest, N.C.
Heritage High School
North Carolina FC
During the 2019 North Carolina girls state tournament, Lipscomb scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Millbrook to send Heritage into the fourth round.
"Mackenzie will be a player featured in a couple of different roles. Primarily I think we'll see here as an attacking fullback. Her parents were alums here. She's excited to come back to the area and we're excited to have her on the squad," Swan commented on Lipscomb.
"Even though we've added these fantastic student-athletes, we're not done on the recruiting trail," Swan said about wanting to bring in more student-athletes as part of the class. "We're looking to add three or four more with a focus on the back four and the defensive midfield area. We might look at other areas, but to round out the class we need to look at all areas on the field. That's our plan when the dead period is lifted."
"I have to give a massive thank you to my assistant coaches Erika Duncan and Austin O'Conner for the tremendous work they've done on the recruiting class. Being the coach who came in and had about eight weeks with the team and then got shutdown with COVID, I couldn't thank them enough for what they've done."
For all the latest information about Marshall women's soccer, follow @HerdWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
"It's been a lot of hard work, working through the COVID-19 pandemic," Swan said about the signing of the class. "It's a smaller class right now, but we're planning on adding more student-athletes to it. It's class with a lot of talent. We have some good players coming in. Some goal scorers and wide players that will impact the squad."
Ava Hall
Scott Depot, W.Va.
Winfield High School
WVFC
Hall was named the 2020 A/AA West Virginia State Player of the Year. Some of her other honors include being named a 2020 First-Team All-State Midfielder, 2020 First-Team All-Region, being named to the USYS East Region ODP - 2003 Girls International Team, the 2019 West Virginia Midfielder of the year and 2019 First-Team All-State Midfielder among several other honors. Hall also excelled in the classroom achieving a 4.25 GPA, being a member of the National Honor Society, going to 2020 Girls State, being in Beta Club and Key Club.
"Ava Hall joins us from West Virginia. She's been a predominant player in the state, both in high school and at the club level. She's very versatile. She can play anywhere in the midfield. She can play wide as an attacking player as a number 10. She's certainly a player who has creativity and can find a pass in the final third," Swan said about Hall on the pitch.
Alyssa Hardin
Royersford, Pa.
Agnes Irwin School
Steel United, PA
Hardin has accumulated many athletic honors during her high school and club career, including a pair of East Region Championships in 2017-18 for ODP, being the captain of her club team from 2018-20 and being her high school's captain during the 2020 season. She also led her club in points since 2014 and her high school in points since 2019. She doesn't just excel on the pitch, but also excels in the classroom as she has a 3.8 GPA, is a National Honor Society candidate and was a member of the 2019 Inter-Academic All-League Team.
"Alyssa comes to us from Pennsylvania. She is a fantastic goal scorer. She's a player I think who fell under the radar in the recruiting process. We have to thank assistant coach Austin O'Connor on this one. He certainly worked hard trying to find her and find footage on her. Not only does she have a great eye for goal, but it's her ability to get out of tight spaces and create that little yard of space to give herself the opportunity to create a chance. Alyssa comes from a great family. She is very enthusiastic to come her," Swan commented on Hardin's abilities.
Kayla Denney
Millstown, N.J.
Allentown HS (NJ)
Player Development Academy
Denney helped lead Allentown High School to the 2017 Group 3 New Jersey State Championship, three division titles (2017, 2018, 2019), a sectional title in 2019 and three MCT finals appearances (2017, 2018, 2019). She has also racked up individual awards including being named Third-Team CVC All-Trentonian and being an honorable mention on the Coaches All-CVC by NJ.com.
"Kayla is joining us from New Jersey. She plays for PDA (Player Development Academy). She's a wide player who's big, strong and athletic. She creates chances. She'll be a player who torments fullbacks on the opposing team. She can play on both sides of the pitch. She's had a fantastic high school and club career. She's accumulated some great accolades and also comes from a great family," Swan said of Denney.
Makenzie Lipscomb
Wake Forest, N.C.
Heritage High School
North Carolina FC
During the 2019 North Carolina girls state tournament, Lipscomb scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Millbrook to send Heritage into the fourth round.
"Mackenzie will be a player featured in a couple of different roles. Primarily I think we'll see here as an attacking fullback. Her parents were alums here. She's excited to come back to the area and we're excited to have her on the squad," Swan commented on Lipscomb.
"Even though we've added these fantastic student-athletes, we're not done on the recruiting trail," Swan said about wanting to bring in more student-athletes as part of the class. "We're looking to add three or four more with a focus on the back four and the defensive midfield area. We might look at other areas, but to round out the class we need to look at all areas on the field. That's our plan when the dead period is lifted."
"I have to give a massive thank you to my assistant coaches Erika Duncan and Austin O'Conner for the tremendous work they've done on the recruiting class. Being the coach who came in and had about eight weeks with the team and then got shutdown with COVID, I couldn't thank them enough for what they've done."
For all the latest information about Marshall women's soccer, follow @HerdWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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