Women's Soccer Announces 2008 Recruits
2/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Feb. 15, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington University women's soccer team has signed four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2008 season, Head Coach Tanya Vogel announced today.
Joining the Colonials in 2008 is forward/midfielder Taryn Dietrich (Irvine, CA/Northwood High School), goalkeeper Lindsey Rowe (Richmond, VA/Godwin High School), midfielder/forward Brittany Schornstein (/Redwood High School) and defender Sierra Smidinger (Annapolis, MD/Arundel High School).
Vogel and Assistant Coach Neel Bhattacharjee are very excited about the new class. Similar to this past season's group, the coaching staff feels that those entering in 2008 will make an impact immediately. "These players add strength in areas that we graduated, including in net and in the center of midfield," said Vogel. "They will compete immediately with our current student-athletes, who are working hard to claim starting roles this spring."
The team will set their sights on winning the Atlantic 10 Conference and competing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. GW finished the 2007 season 8-9-1 after starting 3-0 for the first time in program history. The Colonials thrice won two consecutive matches and had 12 different players record at least two points.
PLAYER PROFILES:
Taryn Dietrich
Position: Midfielder/Forward
Hometown: Irvine, CA
High School: Northwood High School
Club Team: Wolfpack Blue Premier
Coach Vogel's Scouting Report: "[Assistant Coach] Neel [Bhattacharjee] saw Taryn this past summer and believes she will be an impact from Day [One]. She has great pace, is extremely tenacious and believes in her team. She will see time in various flank positions as a freshman and we are looking for her to contribute immediately."
Dietrich on George Washington: "I chose GW for so many reasons it's hard to think of them all. I love the aspect of being in the midst of `city life'; GW is a terrific academic university; I can play Division I soccer with a great group of women athletes; and I will experience living on the East Coast for the first time in my life."
Dietrich's Resume: Taryn will graduate from Northwood with a 4.0 GPA. She's a four-year scholar athlete, honor roll student and Charter Oak Award winner in mathematics. She will study business at GW.
Lindsey Rowe
Position: Goalkeeper
Hometown: Richmond, VA
High School: Godwin High School
Club Team: Richmond Strikers
Coach Bhattacharjee's Scouting Report: "I am very excited that Lindsey will be part of the goalkeeping corps for GW. She possesses very good athleticism, strong technical ability and reads the game very well. She also communicates exceptionally well and has a love and passion for the game that is infectious. Rowe has the ability to compete right away and can certainly become one of the finer goalkeepers in the Atlantic 10 Conference."
Rowe on GW: "I decided to attend GW because of the incredible location, the diversity amongst the students and the outstanding academic reputation that the university has earned over the years. I am excited to be a part of the women's soccer program because I have never met a group of girls that is as friendly, welcoming and determined to succeed in each aspect of their lives as the GW soccer team."
Rowe's Resume: Lindsey has served as captain of the Richmond Strikers for the past eight years and under her leadership they captured two state championships, a regional championship and eight Virginia Club Champions League Championships. Her team finished fourth in the Country in 2007. At Godwin, Lindsey has been a three-year starter, and is expected to be a starter this spring as well. Her high school accolades include being named Metro-Richmond Player of the Year, Central Regional Player of the Year and Colonial District Player of the Year. She has been named First Team All-District and First Team All-District Academic since her freshmen year. During her junior season, she was also named First Team All-Metro and First Team All- Region.
Lindsey has participated in the Olympic Development Program since 2003, including one year in the National Pool, three years in the Region I pool and all five years on the Virginia State team.
Brittany Schornstein
Position: Defender
Hometown: Marin, CA
High School: Redwood High School
Club Team: Marin FC
Coach Vogel's Scouting Report: "We love how Brittany competes! She will be a force on our field during preseason and in training and throughout the fall. We are looking for Brittany to compete for playing time immediately. With her strength, ball winning capabilities and desire to win, she should find herself up front or as a flank midfielder, but won't be surprised if she ends up in a defensive role from time to time."
Brittany on George Washington: "I chose George Washington University for the combination of a great education and an awesome soccer team. When I visited, I immediately loved how friendly and nice the girls on the team were and how enthusiastic the coaches were. The energy of the girls and coaches were contagious and that was exactly what I was looking for in a team. And D.C. is an awesome city, full of cultural diversity and great learning opportunities. I can't wait!"
Schornstein's Resume: Served as Captain for Marin FC for the past two years, guiding them to many finals and semi-finals. In all, her club teams have won over 20 championships, including the US Club Soccer National Championship in 2004, the Gothia Cup (2006), the Dana Cup (2006) and PDA Invitational (2006). Schornstein was named "Man of the Match" in the Dana Cup Finals. While at Redwood, Brittany has been named First Team All- League since her freshmen year. She led the league in goals as a freshman and helped lead her team to the Marin County Athletic League Championship as a junior. She will complete her career at Redwood this spring, and currently she is leading her basketball team into the MCAL playoffs.
As a student, Schornstein has been on the Honor Roll for four years and was the recipient of the Scholar Athlete award.
Sierra Smidinger
Position: Center Midfielder
Hometown: Bethesda, MD
High School: Arundel High School
Club Team: Bethesda Rapids
Coach Vogel's Scouting Report: "Sierra is an outstanding young center midfielder. She possesses the ability to set play, switch the point of attack and be a primary ball winner. We look for her to impact our team immediately and compliment [rising senior] Kerry Philbin (Herndon, VA/Bishop O'Connell) as one of our primary playmakers. Smidinger brings an enormous amount of high-level experience to GW, having played on one of the premier club teams in the country."
Smidinger on George Washington: "I decided to attend GW because the balance between academics and high level soccer is outstanding. I am excited to be a part of the women's soccer program because there is a great atmosphere between the players and coaches."
Smidinger's Resume: Sierra has played for Bethesda Soccer Club for the past six years, winning three State Cup Championships with the Blast and being a Regional Finalist two out of those three years. At Arundel, she served as Captain during her junior and senior years and was named First Team All-County all four years seasons, All-State Honorable Mention in 2005 and All-Met Honorable Mention in 2007. She was voted MVP this past season by her teammates and coach. As an Olympic Development Program player, Sierra has played for the Maryland State Team and was selected to the Region I Pool in 2007. She will travel with the Regional Team to Moscow later this month.
Academically, Smidinger is a member of the National Honor Society and was selected as an Honorable Mention Maryland Distinguished Scholar.
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