CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- After two consecutive NAIA national championships, Lee University women's soccer coach Matt Yelton has announced a 13-player signing class for 2010.
They include previously reported commitment Danielle Ciabottone, a Ringgold resident who was a three-time all-state selection and Chattanooga's player of the year last fall after leading Notre Dame High School to the Class A/AA state final. Two other Lady Flames recruits are Carissa Sanchez from Baylor and former Baylor standout Caroline Scales, a Georgia Southern transfer who played more minutes than anyone else last season for the NCAA Division I member.
"I think Danielle is one of the top players coming out of Chattanooga," Yelton said in a Lee release about the two-time state ODP player. "She has the ability to play in a number of different positions and has demonstrated a great deal of success. ... Her work rate is unmatched, and she has the skill and vision to match the physical presence she brings to a game."
Sanchez is a four-time Tennessee ODP player and another Best of Preps and all-state selection who was captain of a state finalist. She was part of a club team that reached the State Cup semifinals and the Southern Regionals.
"I believe that Carissa is going to be a very good addition to our team," said Yelton, noting that he had worked with her in various capacities since she was 13. "She has a great understanding for the game and is a very skillful player."
Scales played club soccer for Yelton's team that reached the State Cup final in 2007 and reached the Southern Regionals in 2008, and she was a two-time high school all-stater and Best of Preps choice who helped Baylor reach the Division II state final in 2007 and semifinals in '06 and '08.
"We really wanted Caroline to be at Lee out of high school," Yelton said. "We are incredibly excited that she has decided to transfer to Lee and be a part of what we are doing here. Her year of experience at Georgia Southern will be incredibly valuable in helping replace the group of seniors we are losing."
Other Lady Flames signees include North Carolinians Ashley Aragona and Lauren Welch, teammates under Charlotte Eagles coach Lee Horton with the highly successful Charlotte Soccer Academy club program; Brittany Wilkerson from West Chester, Ohio; and Elizabeth Hagan from Orlando, Fla.
"Ashley is a player that I believe can come in and make an immediate impact on our squad," Yelton said about the high-scoring forward set to play W-league this summer. "She is a force on the field because she can play and score from almost anywhere."
Benedictine Christensen comes to the Lady Flames along with Lin Hamre from Oslo, Norway, just as Christensen's twin All-America sisters have ended their Lee eligibility -- one as the 2009 NAIA player of the year. Other international signees are Charlotte Canlett from Oswestry, England; Keyanna Jackson from Ontario, Canada; and Ode Fulutudilu and Simone Martin from Cape Town, South Africa.
Jackson was the high scorer for a provincial champion and had tryouts with the Canadian national team. The South Africans are teammates on the Ambassadors in Sport team in the top level of that country's women's league, with Fulutudilu -- also a cricket standout -- as the team's top scorer the last four years. The versatile Martin was the top-ranked student in her school.
"I do believe Ode will be one of the top players in the NAIA this coming fall," Yelton said.