University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ink Nine for 2014
2/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Feb. 5, 2014 | 
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MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota women's soccer team announced nine additions to the Gopher Soccer family on Wednesday afternoon. Eight of the newcomers signed National Letters of Intent and will officially join the team in the fall, while one signed her tender and joined the team in early January.
Head coach Stefanie Golan and her assistants, Krystle Seidel and Deana Waintraub, put together a well-rounded class to add to an already strong team including Alyssa Blahnik, Tori Burnett, Maddie Gaffney, Julianna Gernes, Hannah Holm, Megan Koenig, Kellie McGahn and Sydney Squires as well as Rachel McCloskey.
"We are very excited about our 2014 class as we worked very hard to put together the right class for our program," said Golan. "This is a fantastic group of young women who will make an immediate impact on our program on the field and will represent the program in the classroom and community with class. We have a balance of attacking players and defenders, athleticism and soccer intelligence, and this is a hard-working, focused group that wants to help take the program to the next level. When you mix this class into our returning group, we are going to be a better, deeper team and we are excited about the future of the Gopher Soccer Family."
A native of Savage, Minn., Alyssa Blahnik joins the Gophers from Burnsville High School. At Burnsville, Blahnik was a soccer letterwinner and a conference champion. She was named to the South Suburban All-Conference team in 2010 and 2011 and to the Minnesota All-State team in 2011 when her team finished second in the state. While at Minnesota, Blahnik hopes to begin her journey to her dream career of being a orthopedic doctor.
"Alyssa Blahnik is a dynamic attacking player who can score goals," said Golan. "She is quick with the ball at her feet and can score in a variety of ways. She plays much bigger than she is, and we are looking forward to getting her here and settling her into our system as she will be able to contribute up top or in the midfield."
Tori Burnett joins the Maroon and Gold as the lone representative from the state of Colorado. Burnett is a letterwinner in both soccer and basketball at Cheyenne Mountin High School. Her athletic achievements include Pikes Peak Athletic League Soccer Conference Champions in both 2012 and 2013 as well as state champions in 2013. She has been on the Principal's Honor Roll for all four years of high school as well as being named an AP Scholar, a member of the National Honor Society and a four time Academic All-State honoree. She plans to major in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota and hopes to be a chemist.
"Tori Burnett is an athletic defender out of Colorado who is a natural leader with a fantastic work rate," said Golan. "As an outside back, she attacks very well with the ball at her feet and has the fitness base to cover a lot of ground. As a center back, she is composed, organized, and keeps the ball well. She is a tough defender who isn't afraid to lay out a tackle and she is good in the air. She is going to come in and help us immediately."
Maddie Gaffney joins the Gophers from Woodbury, Minn. where she is a soccer letterwinner as well as a an academic standout. She finished her soccer career at Woodbury High School with 46 goals and 13 assists. She was an Suburban East All-Conference, All-Metro, All-State and All-Regional honoree as a junior and a senior as well as being named an All-American in her senior year by the National Soccer Coaches Association. Outside of her athletic achievements, Gaffney has also recieved academic honors every year as she finishes high school with a 4.0 GPA. She plans to major in kinesiology or physical therapy and hopes to become a physical therapist.
"Maddie Gaffney is as steady as they come," said Golan. "She has a deep fitness base and works extremely hard. One of her greatest assets is her versatility which is what will allow her to help us immediately. She can play up top and score goals; she can play in the midfield and keep the game simple and defend well; she can play as an outside back and close players down while showing composure on the attacking side of the ball. Plus, she is money on set pieces. Maddie gives us immediate depth in several places and will definitely help right away."
A native of Lake Elmo, Minn., Julianna Gernes will join the Gophers from Hill-Murray this fall. Gernes was a three-time letterwinner at Hill-Murray earning All-Conference and All-State honors during her time there as well as being named a team captain in 2013. She was also named to the All-Metro East Team by the Pioneer Press and was the leading scorer in Minnesota with 26 goals in 2013. She was named the Hill-Murray MVP in 2013 as well as the Player of the Year. She plans to major in biological sciences.
"Julianna Gernes is a hard nosed athletic player who can play up top or as an outside back," said Golan. "She has tremendous pace and is relentless defensively. We feel she will come in and compete to play up top initially where she will help us in the press and also give us a player with pace to get at players on the flank and provide quality service. She worked hard to get here and we are confident she will grow a lot over her 4 years as a Gopher."
Hannah Holm who will be joining the Gophers from Spokane Valley, Wash., is a two-time letterwinner in soccer as well as cross country and track. Holm is a National Honor Society member as well as a state qualifer in cross country and took home a seventh place finish in the 4x4 at the state championships in track in 2011. She played with Soccer Edge Academy FC, winning three league championships as well as two state championships during her tenure. She plans to major in kinesiology while attending the University of Minnesota.
"Hannah Holm is a really dynamic attacking player out of the state of Washington," said Golan. "She will come in and compete to play right away as an attacking midfielder. Hannah is strong and quick on the ball, combines well, and is always dangerous on the ball. Defensively, she can cover ground and reads the game well, but isn't afraid to lay out a tackle when necessary as well. We become a much more dangerous attacking team with Hannah, and we are excited that we should have depth at the center of our midfield this year."
A native of Mahtomedi, Minn, Megan Koenig will join the Gophers from Mahtomedi High School. She was a five-time letter winner, four for soccer as well as one for track in 2011. She was selected as an Classic Suburban All-Conference honoree 2011-13, a Minnesota AA All-State honoree in 2013 as well as the Star Tribune All-Metro First Team and the Pioneer Press East Metro First Team in 2013. Koenig was named the 2013 Pioneer Press Player of the Year after she ended her high school career with the most career assists at Mahtomedi High School (55). She plans to major in biology.
"Megan Koenig is another player we expect to contribute and add depth in the midfield," said Golan. "Small in stature, but Megan's soccer IQ more than makes up for that. She is technically gifted and can truly dictate the flow of a game; some of her distribution is ridiculous! Her biggest adjustment will be the speed of the college game, but we are confident that she will play to her strengths and give us another option in the midfield."
Kellie McGahn will join the Maroon and Gold from Apple Valley High School. Not only was McGahn a four-year letterwinner in soccer but also in hockey as well as a three-year letterwinner in track at Eastview High School. She was named a South Suburban All-Conference honoree as well as an All-State honoree in 2012 and 2013. On top of a grueling athletic schedule, McGahn was also a four-year academic letterwinner. During her senior year, she was named to the Section 3AA All-Tournament Team, Section 3AA All-Academic Team, the Start Tribune Metro First Team, the Pioneer Press All-East Metro Team as well as being named the Eastview women's soccer MVP, Ms Offense and Outstanding Academic Athlete.
"Kellie McGahn is a fast, tough, left footed player that we are excited to have join the program," said Golan. "While she can play up top and be a dangerous attacking player, we see her initially competing at the left back position where her speed will be a tremendous asset both defensively and getting forward out of the back. She can cover a lot of ground, and we know that she will be able to settle into our system and help us take a step forward as a program."
The only Wisconsin native to join the Gophers this upcoming season, Sydney Squires makes her way to Minneapolis from Hudson High School. Squires played at St. Croix Academy where she helped her team earn a Minnesota State Cup Championship in 2013 as well as a MRL championship in 2012 and a Disney Showcase Championship in 2013. Not only did Squires have a successful club soccer career, she was also a gifted hockey and tennis student-athlete at Hudson. She was a four-time letterwinner and a four-time All-Conference and All-State honorable mention. She also earned three letters in tennis where she was named to the All-Conference team and made it to the state tournament her junior and senior years. She plans to major in business or marketing at the University of Minnesota.
"Sydney Squires is the goalscorer of the group," said Golan. "She is athletic and fit with a tremendous work rate and has a knack for scoring goals. She can score in the run of play, off service, with her head, and works extremely hard to be consistently dangerous. On top of that, she has the fitness base and work rate to do what we need on the defensive side of the ball, and we are excited to help her grow as a player over her 4 years as a Gopher."
Rounding out the recruiting class is Rachel McCloskey who joined the Gophers in January after graduating early from Southeast Polk High School in Iowa. Her club team, Iowa Rush, made several trips to the Iowa State Cup. She also played varsity basketball and was an honor student. She will practice with the team in prepartion for the 2014 season.
"Rachel McCloskey is already here this semester, and she has transitioned to life as a student-athlete extremely well," said Golan. "We are excited for an extra semester of work with her as she is someone who can play for us as a center back, outside back, or defensive midfielder right away. She came in fit and technically sound, and is now adjusting to the speed of play required at our level. She will do well here."
The nine Gopher newcomers will join 19 returners including 2013 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, Tarah Hobbs, as well as the leading scorer for the Gophers last season, Katie Thyken. The Gophers finished the season at 11-8-2 with a trip to both the Big Ten Tournament and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010.
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