The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer Adds Three Commitments For 2009
5/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
May 20, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's soccer team has added three more players for the upcoming season. Marlijn Hermans, Heather Shaw and Camille Walters have all committed to play for the Blazers in 2009, announced UAB head coach Paul Harbin.
Hermans, Shaw and Walters join previous signees Alexis Braziel, Stephanie Henderson, Emily Sinovich and Emma Smith to make up UAB's 2009 freshman class.
Hermans is an experienced and highly-touted international player from Pietersbierum, The Netherlands. Playing with the Royal Netherlands Soccer Federation (KNVB), which is The Netherland's version of the United States National Team, she garnered multiple honors.
Hermans was a regional selection for the KNVB for four straight years and followed that by being tabbed to the District North team for four seasons.
"Marlijn is an internationally successful player with the advantage of growing up in a strong soccer culture," said Harbin. "Because of that, she has the ability to read the subtle parts of the game that only comes from playing and living in that environment.
"Marlijn is a highly motivated and versatile central player with excellent distributional skills who also makes great penetrating runs and works extremely well off the ball. We're thrilled to have her join our program here at UAB. Her experience within the Dutch national team program will put her in a great position to make a quick transition to the college game."
Shaw is a local product from Birmingham, playing her prep career for her father, head coach Stephen Shaw at Parkway Christian Academy. A four-year captain for the Wildcats, she was also honored as the team's Most Valuable Player for three straight seasons. Most recently, she helped her team to an area championship in 2009.
"Heather is one of the top players in the Birmingham area," said Harbin. "She's a strong player with a great ability to read the game and distribute accordingly. We're excited to have her on board and think she has good potential to continue to develop and grow within our program."
A forward/defender from Nashville, Tenn., Walters played her high school career for head coach Robin Dieterich at Father Ryan High School, where she helped guide the Irish to a 2008 Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Division II state championship.
In addition, Walters played club soccer for the ERSA Express 91, coached by Matt Yelton. She was an integral part of the squad's Region 3 Premier League Championship, as well as helping her team to the 2009 Regional quarterfinals.
"Camille has a great pace and does well at getting in behind opposing defenders," said Harbin. "She is not afraid to get in hard on tackles and her work ethic and positive attitude are second-to-none. With added experience, she has great potential to do well in our program."
