The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Women's Soccer Announces 2006 Recruiting Class
4/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
April 20, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's soccer program recently announced the signing of seven student-athletes for its 2006 recruiting class. The Blazers have received commitments from Rachael Axon, Allison Auchter, Danya Barsalona, Danielle Blair, Kate Blankenship, Toni Gockel and Claire Palmer.
Auchter, a native of Atlanta, Ga., attends top-ranked, undefeated Brookwood High School where she plays for Coach Anita McLane. She is a three-year member of the Georgia Olympic Develop Program. She also plays club soccer for Tophat Gold under the guidance of head coach Todd Shulenberger. Tophat Gold is currently ranked No. 24 nationally among club teams and was the team of former Blazer All-American Briana McCarty.
"Creatively Allison is an incredibly skillful, deceptive player," said Harbin. "Her strength and work rate combined with those attributes make her dangerous up top and a fun player to watch."
Blair becomes the third Blazer on the UAB roster from Scarborough, Ontario. She will also become the fifth Canadian on the roster in 2006 including Jennifer Williams, Laura Richards, and Nadine Liverpool and fellow incoming freshman Danya Barsalona. Blair currently attends Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough. She is a current member of the U-18 National Team and the National Training Centre of Ontario where she has played for coaches Bryan Rosenfeld and Jens Kramer since 2003. Her club team, the Vaughn Azzurri 88's, is the second ranked Ontario club team and is coached by Gerry Gentile. She was a member of the 2005 Canada Cup Champion, the York Region Lady Shooters. She was also a member of the U14-U16 Ontario Provincial Team. In 2004, she was on the National All-Star Champions team.
"Danielle is an incredibly gifted athlete who has had the opportunity to develop at international level. Her speed and ability to attack from the back will make her a tough player to match up with at the collegiate level."
Blankenship, a native of Macon, Ga., will provide depth at the goalkeeper position for the Blazers in 2006. She currently plays club soccer for Brian Moore and the seventh-ranked Peachtree City Lazers Elite team. She helped Peachtree City win the 2005 Georgia State Cup Championship. She has also won three state championships playing for Mike White at Stratford Academy where she is the current team captain.
"Kate is a talented athlete with an insatiable desire to be the best she can be at everything she does," said Harbin. "Her competitive spirit combined with her work ethic and athleticism gives her a chance to compete right away at the collegiate level."
Gockel is a native of Gadsden, Ala., and plays for Gadsden High School where she is chasing US National Team member Cat Reddick's Alabama High School career scoring record of 211 goals. Gockel currently has 195 goals with several games left in the season. She is coached at Gadsden by Billy Martin and was named All-State by the Birmingham News. In 2005 she helped lead Gadsden High School to the Final Four of the 5A state championship. She plays club soccer for the State Champion American Soccer Jets and coach John Markey. She is also a seven year Alabama ODP player. She was recently named the UNC Camp Midfield MVP and was the Northeast Alabama leading scorer in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2003 and 2004, Gockel was named the Lakeshore Shootout MVP.
"Toni is another tremendous athlete with a fierce competitive spirit," said Harbin. "She has the speed and ability to play as a forward, a flank midfielder or as an outside back."
Palmer is a local Birmingham product from Briarwood Christian High School where she plays for head coach Ryan Lieb and is the current team captain. Over the last three years she has helped Briarwood reach the Final Four all three years. In 2005, Palmer led Briarwood to the finals of the state championship. Her club team is the Alabama State Champion Vestavia Attack coached by Jason Lockhart. Current UAB player Katie Henricks is a former Attack player. Palmer is also a member of the Alabama ODP State Team.
"Claire is a competitive, skillful battler who players with passion and alwatys finds a way to positively impact the game," said Harbin.
Barsalona is a native of Stony Creek, Ontario, where she attends Cardinal Newman Secondary School. She is a member of the U18 Canadian National team and played most recenly with them against the United States and China national teams at the 2005 Texas Shootout. Along with incoming teammate Danielle Blair, she is a member of the Ontario National Training Centre where she plays for Bryan Rosenfeld. Barsalona plays club soccer for national power Dixie Fury 88's where she plays for Pat Riverso. The Dix Furu also produced current UAB player Nadine Liverpool.
"Danya is a skillful, goal-scoring forward who loves to take people on one-on-one," said Harbin. "Her speed, skill, international experience and incredible passion for the game should help her to make a quick transition to the college game."
Rounding out the class is Rachael Axon, a native of London, England, who has also played at the international level. She is a member of the England U20 and U21 National Teams. She plays club soccer and captains AFC Wimbledon where she is coached by Stewart Castledine. In 2004, Axon started for England in the U21 Nordic Cup and marked future UAB teammate Nasra Abdullah in the match against Norway. She is currently training with England for the 2006 Nordic Cup competition.
"Rachael has a great first touch, excellent vision and a mature, composed ability to read the game," said Harbin. "These attributes combined with her international experience give her great potential to make an immediate impact on our program."
The 2006 class joins 14 returning players from last year's team that advanced to its third-consecutive Conference USA Tournament, winning two championships along the way.
"We're very excited about this incoming class," said Harbin. "Each of these players possesses the athleticism and skill that give them a chance to impact our program immediately. They have also all been big parts of extremely successful, winning programs and expect the same here at UAB."
