University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Soccer Signs Six to National Letters of Intent
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
"This recruiting class will play an important role in helping Minnesota Soccer get to the next level," Denney Wright said. "We welcome them to the Minnesota Soccer family."
A standout three-sport athlete at Apple Valley High School, Dare was a two-year letterwinner for the Eagles and was named Team MVP last season. She earned all-state, all-metro and all-conference honors at Apple Valley. Dare was an NSCAA/Adidas All-Midwest selection and was named player of the game at the Puma Senior All-Star Classic. A team captain on the soccer, basketball and track teams, she was a four-year letterwinner on the basketball and track teams. She finished in seventh place in the discus at the 2003 Minnesota State Championship as Apple Valley captured the true team title.
Fightmaster is a senior at Fort Collins High School in Fort Collins, Colo., and is a three-time letterwinner. She was a first-team all-conference honoree this past season, and was a two-time second-team all-conference selection as a sophomore and junior. Fightmaster was also a three-time team Defensive MVP. A midfielder/defender, she is a member of the Denver Real National Team, which earned state championships in 2002 and '03, and also placed first at the 2004 State Cup and 2004 San Diego Cup.
A senior at Rochester Century High School in Rochester, Minn., Kasten was six-year letterwinner on the soccer team at Century and Kasson-Mantorville. She is both schools' all-time leading goal scorer. From seventh to 10th grade at Kasson-Mantorville, she led the team in scoring during her freshman and sophomore seasons and holds the school record with 54 career goals. Kasten transferred to Century for her final two seasons and is the school's all-time leading goal scorer with 69. She was named all-state in each of the past two seasons and was a three-time all-conference selection.
A native of Bloomington, Minn., Kempainen was a two-time all-conference player for Jefferson High School and earned four varsity letters. She was a two-time MVP as Jefferson advanced to a pair of section runner-up finishes and two section semifinal appearances. Kempainen was also member of the Tsunami Sota, one of the premier club teams in the state of Minnesota. The team finished as regional runner-ups in 2000 and '03, and finished as national runner-ups in 2001 and '02.
Hailing from Plano, Texas, Kennedy was a midfielder/forward at Plano Senior High School, as well as, the Sting Soccer Club. She earned NSCAA All-American and All-Southwest Region honors in 2003. Kennedy led her high school and club teams in goals in each of the past three seasons.
A native of Oregon City, Oregon, McCarthy was a four-year letterwinner at Oregon City High School and a four-time all-conference selection. She earned all-state honors as a senior as her team finished 13-1-2 on the year. A team captain, McCarthy was a three-time team MVP and led her team in scoring three times. A member of the National Honor Society, she was also a letterwinner on the track team.
The University of Minnesota also announced the addition of three more student-athletes this spring in Tierney Palmer-Klein, Regina Moench and Crystal Wollesen. A native of Minneapolis, Palmer-Klein returns to the Golden Gophers after spending last fall studying abroad in Chile. The midfielder/defender lettered in both of her two seasons at Minnesota in 2001-02 and started all 36 matches of her career.
A native of Bloomington High School, Moench brings impressive credentials back to Minnesota after transferring from Creighton University. She lettered three years with the Bluejays and was the Missouri Valley Conference's leading scorer this past fall. Moench was the league's freshman of the year in 2001 and earned all-conference honors in each of her three seasons. She was a three-time all-state selection out of Bloomington Jefferson High School and led the Jaguars to a state runner-up finish in 1999.
An early graduate of Lakeville High School, Wollesen enrolled at the University of Minnesota for spring semester. She was a three-year letterwinner at Lakeville and earned all-conference honors during her senior season. Wollesen helped lead Lakeville to a pair of fourth-straight finishes at the state championship. She was also a standout on the track and field team, which captured the 2002 true team state title.
"It is exciting to add quality soccer players and quality people to our team immediately," Denney Wright said. "They have already made an impact in offseason workouts."
The nine newcomers join a Golden Gopher women's squad that loses just two players to graduation and is scheduled to return nearly 77 percent of its goal scoring and total point production. The Golden Gophers will bring back four of their top five scorers, including All-Big Ten Freshman Haley Lentsch. Minnesota will also return its entire defensive corps and trio of goalkeepers.
