New 2010 Recruit

From the on-line source over at BigSoccer, just entered tomorrow (February 24) (the compiler must be on the East Coast):

Michelle Cruz, forward, from Thousand Oaks, CA and Slammers FC. 2007 U-15 NT Pool.

Geez, got any info on her?

Oh yeah.
I've got a question for you--Do you think we can find a place for a player who's described as lightning fast?


She's a YNT kid, (u15) and has been on Cal-South ODP teams. she plays forward (and Midfield on the YNT)
She was described as one of the "rising Stars" 2 years ago at the Youth Championships when her club was dubbed one of the top 15 programs in the country.

She was at a u-15 camp in 2007 along with another UP recruit, Keeper Erin Dees
USClubsoccer News (and potential Kealia Ohai)

here's a couple of articles about her

Soccer has taken Thousand Oaks High's Michelle Cruz around the globe
She wants to be the next Mia Hamm. We might have to show her better options
Our goal is to see she gets her Mercedes.

You'll see from that article that she's played for Puerto Rico's u 17 Youth National team, too.

she scored two to win her Championship game:
Acorn online


And she has an older sister who's pretty good, too. I wonder where Nicole is going?

Purplegeezer wrote:Oh yeah.
I've got a question for you--Do you think we can find a place for a player who's described as lightning fast?

Yeah, wherever she wants

Geez, one article says that her sister is a freshman at CSU- Northridge.

Sounds like a good get, surprising as her bio on that same article says that her fave team is the UCLA women's soccer team...

Anyone hear any more on Ohai? talk about a recruiting class if we happen to get her in 2010 as well.

That gives us 6 recruits for 2010 and one has to wonder whether it suggests that Ohai has made a choice. I certainly hope not.

Regardless, a big get of a recruit that I look forward to watching at Merlo. Go Pilots.

Not only Ohai, but don't forget that Kate Bennett and Elizabeth Eddy are top-tier 2010 recruits that are uncommitted and have been discussed as possible Pilots-to-be. Could be a really fantastic class if one or more of these ladies decides to come in addition to the six already on the list.

Minutes are already going to be sliced pretty thinly in 2009 with only Kelsey and Michelle E. as graduating starters from next year's team (assuming that Kendra, Megan S., and Sophie all return for their final year of eligibility).

We have gotten so spoiled by the early commits in the past, I want to know about the other 3 marquee recruits already...

You make a great point though soreknees with only 2 absolute seniors on next years squad it does make PT interesting. On the flip side how many times in the last 2-3 years have we been totally shorthanded due to injuries and other commitments? It is always possible it seems that there may be some Women's intl tourney that will steal some of our ladies away.

If Cruz Plays for TOHS and the Slammers Club she and her family are big time committed to soccer thats a two hour commute each way for practice. I wonder why she didn't play for a local club? Maybe no teams that age good enough?

aleppiek wrote:
Sounds like a good get, surprising as her bio on that same article says that her fave team is the UCLA women's soccer team...

Maybe she watched the game where we beat them soundly in the national championship and changed her mind.

Beautiful!...Just Beautiful! The 2010 class are very well credentialed top to bottom! I can't stop myself from feeling giddy! Adding Ohai, Eddy and/or Bennet will only add to the feeling of a outright coup! We're 2 seasons away from even seeing this class in purple but...WoW...I can't wait! What at bright future this program has!

At the risk of stating the obvious and my strong grasp of it, I add that the addition of Ms. Cruz strongly, if not irrefutably, suggests that the quality of recruits to this program will continue to be high even without the services of Ms. Hanson as a recruiter. Did any of us have any doubts about that? To what extent Ms. Sari was involved in the recruitment of Michelle Cruz I do not know, but we can still got the job done.

Ohai committed to North Carolina

Hmm? SA Fan..what's your source? Anyplace but UNC...Ugh!

southanericanfan wrote:Ohai committed to North Carolina

I heard that too..Rumor has it that Ohai was great friends with Lauren and was devistated when she left. Thus UNC came into the picture...

I will drive over to the Cruz residence and extoll the benefits of a UP education over all other top contender teams. Except for Stanford. I would have gone to Stanford if they would have let me in:)

I'm not so sure it's a done deal yet. Perhaps the UNC folks should be more that a little concerned since any alleged commitment hasn't been made public and Kealia is now in the grips of Jill Ellis at the u20 camp.

Funny how she took the job back just in time for recruiting season....

I'm going to latch-on to AutoPilot's thoughts about UCLA's chances of committing Ohai! Very unlikely.. because Kealia's sister is already at USC. I forget how he phrased it...but I nodded and laughed in agreement! It was a humorous assessment! Anyway...until I see something offical validating where Kealia commits to...I'm crossing my fingers that UP is still on her short list! Remember Marta??? The anniversay is coming up shortly...but I've got my calendar marked this time!

GO PILOTS!!!

Auto Pilot wrote:If Cruz Plays for TOHS and the Slammers Club she and her family are big time committed to soccer thats a two hour commute each way for practice. I wonder why she didn't play for a local club? Maybe no teams that age good enough?

She played for a local club, Real SoCal, for a long time but there was a coaching change. She switched teams about a year ago. Lots of drama in Southern California club soccer.

You will enjoy watching her play. Congrats to UP.

Ohai committing to North Carolina is a done deal. She hasn't signed.....but she did committ. You can dream on as far as Portland. USC was never a real option for her. Her sister was a star there her freshman year and often came off the bench her sophomore year.

I ran through the women's soccer recruiting site I watch. O'Hai is still listed uncommitted. I also found 8 other women with national team experience who are listed uncommitted in the class of 2010. 7 of the 8 are west coasters. Does anyone know if we are in the mix for them?
From Cal - Mia Bruno, Tawni Martino, Jazmin Ponce, Courtney Strombeck and Zuri Walker. From Washington - Emi Lawson and Kate Bennett, whom I heard is possible.
The other one is Meghan Morris from NJ.

The source we go to on BigSoccer now, in fact, has listed Ohai as having given UNC a verbal commitment; and Eddy as having given USC a verbal.

I just saw that too - Ohai to UNC and Eddy to USC. Also, Ponce to Arizona. Drat!! It's too bad those girls will never reach their max potential.

Wow, that's a bummer, I thought we still had a really solid shot at Ohai still. I would think that players with WNT aspirations would be looking to play in systems that are more like the WNT system. Granted supreme talent will still find its way.

2010 TOP 100 WOMEN
On a positive note look at next years Verbals in the Top Drawer top 50


Name Club Position Rating Schools

1. Jenna Richmond
Centerville, (VA) McLean SC Central Midfielder List

2. Hayley Brock
Acton, (MA) Stars of Massachusetts Forward List

3. Kealia Ohai
Draper, (UT) Avalanche Premier Forward List

4. Alexis Harris
Plano, (TX) Dallas Texans Central Midfielder List

5. Anna Sieloff
Troy, (MI) Vardar Goalkeeper List

6. Kristin Cummins
Plano, (TX) Dallas Texans Forward List

7. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick
Pleasanton, (CA) San Ramon SC Central Midfielder List

8. Elizabeth Eddy
Costa Mesa, (CA) So Cal Blues Forward List

9. Alexandria Crown
Orlando, (FL) Space Coast United Forward List

10. Mary Gibson Wagner
Wall, (NJ) PDA Forward List

11. Wendy Taylor Travis
Cary, (NC) CASL Central Midfielder List

12. Crystal Dunn
Rockville Center, (NY) Albertson SC Defender List

13. Catherine Sessions
Woodbury, (MN) Woodbury SC Winger List

14. Kathryn Bennett
Clyde Hill, (WA) Crossfire Premier SC Central Midfielder List

15. Briana Hovington
Lothian, (MD) Bethesda SC Forward List

16. Kailey Blain
Merrimack, (NH) Stars of Massachusetts Defender List

17. Kecia Morway
Libertyville, (IL) Eclipse Select (IL) Defender List

18. Rachel Mercik
El Dorado Hills, (CA) CASA Boca Juniors Winger List

19.Lauren Arnold
Hoover, (AL) Birmingham United SA Goalkeeper List

21. Devin Marshall
Bonita, (CA) Albion SC (CA) Forward List

22. Meagan Morris
Montclair, (NJ) Montclair SC Forward List

23. Emily Oliver
Flossmoor, (IL) Windy City Pride Goalkeeper List

24. Haley Boysen
Moorpark, (CA) Eagles SC (CA) Forward List

25. Kylie Facinelli
Del Mar, (CA) So Cal Blues Forward List

26. Victoria Bailey
Fenton, (MI) Michigan Hawks Central Midfielder List

27. Mackenzie Akerfelds
Littleton, (CO) Colorado Rush Defender List

28. Vittoria Arnold
Mesquite, (TX) Dallas Texans Goalkeeper List

29. Erin Dees
Downers Grove, (IL) Eclipse Select (IL) Goalkeeper List

30. Mary (Addie) Eggleston
Houston, (TX) Challenge SC Forward List

31. Natasha Anasi
Arlington, (TX) Dallas Texans Defender List

32. Nicole Duarte
League City, (TX) Challenge SC Central Midfielder List

33. Mollie Pathman
Durham, (NC) Triangle FC Forward List

34. Gabriella Zarnegar
Mission Viejo, (CA) So Cal Blues Forward List

35. Juliann Jeffrey
Richardson, (TX) Dallas Texans Central Midfielder List

36. Audrey Barry
Burke, (VA) Vista (VA) Forward List

37. Kaley Blades
Largo, (FL) Clearwater Chargers SC Forward List

38. Alyson Birgel
Thousand Oaks, (CA) Real So Cal Central Midfielder List

39. Vanessa Laxgang
Libertyville, (IL) Eclipse Select (IL) Central Midfielder List

40. Michelle Cruz
Thousand Oaks, (CA) Real So Cal Forward List

41. Rachel Nuzzolese
Rockville Center, (NY) Rockville Centre SC Forward List

42. Sydney Payne
Lutz, (FL) IMG Soccer Academy Winger List

43. Shelby Payne
Lutz, (FL) IMG Soccer Academy Forward List

44. Kaitlyn Kerr
Bensalem, (PA) FC Bucks Central Midfielder List

45. Amanda Frisbie
McKinney, (TX) Dallas Texans Forward List

46. Julie Johnston
Mesa, (AZ) Sereno SC Central Midfielder List

47. Ellen Parker
Paradise Valley, (AZ) Sereno SC Central Midfielder List

48. Lisa Nouanesengsy
Huber Heights, (OH) Ohio Elite SA Forward List

49. Katie Nasenbenny
LaGrange, (IL) Windy City Pride Central Midfielder List

50. Vanessa DiBernardo

Purplegeezer wrote:I'm not so sure it's a done deal yet. Perhaps the UNC folks should be more that a little concerned since any alleged commitment hasn't been made public and Kealia is now in the grips of Jill Ellis at the u20 camp.

Funny how she took the job back just in time for recruiting season....

I agree about the comment regarding Ellis. She is has been in or around the women's youth national teams for many years now.