UAB Women's Soccer Signs Eight Players

BIRMINGHAM –UAB women's soccer head coach Erica Demers has announced that eight newcomers have signed on to join the Blazers.

The Blazers welcome to the family Kristen Goodroe, Erika Manfre, Izzy Passman, Faith Phillips, Megan Richardson, Anika Toth, Melina West and Jessica Wheeler.

Kristen Goodroe | Gulf Breeze, Fla. | Gulf Breeze | Pensacola FC | 5-5 | Forward
Goodroe played three years at Gulf Breeze, scoring 60 goals and 31 assists while leading the Dolphins to 65 victories and a pair of appearances in the Florida state championship match. The Pensacola News Journal named her the Player of the Year after her junior year in addition to being named All-Area her freshman and sophomore season. She bypassed her senior season at Gulf Breeze to play for the United Fútbol Developmental Academy.
Demers on Goodroe: "We are extremely thrilled to have Kristen be a part of our program and to start early with us this coming spring. She is a quick player that will be a strong asset to our attack. Kristen is naturally two-footed and very good at 1v1 battles and finding crosses in the box."

Erika Manfre | Greenville, S.C. | JL Mann | Greenville, S.C. | 5-5 | Forward
Manfre is no stranger to big games. In May, she led JL Mann to its seventh straight state championship with the game-winning goal to cap an impressive 27-1 junior season. Her sophomore year, Mann was down in the state title game and Manfre scored the equalizer and assisted on the game-winner. In her three seasons, the Patriots have 67 wins and finished both 2017 and 2019 with a national ranking of No. 4. Manfre has been named South Carolina All-State 5A twice, All-Region three times and All-State All-American in 2019. Manfre played club for Carolina Elite Soccer Academy.
Demers on Manfre: "We are extremely excited to have Erika join our Blazer home. She has an incredible left foot that pushes her game on the width. She will always give you everything she has and since her commitment to UAB, her drive and consistent play have continued to excite us. Erika hails from South Carolina and is our second player representing a great club in CESA. We know that Erika's passion for the game with help her thrive in the green and gold uniform."

Izzy Passman | Vestavia Hills, Ala. | Vestavia Hills | Alabama FC | 5-4 | Midfield
Birmingham native Izzy Passman is familiar to winning championships. The Vestavia Hills product led the Rebels to back-to-back AHSAA Class 7A state championships (alongside current Blazers defender Lizzie Hill). Passman was selected to the 2019 AHSAA Class 7A All-State Team and was a Super All-State team honorable mention. Additionally, she was named to the 2019 Birmingham Alabama Metro A-Division Girls High School Soccer Second Team.
Demers on Passman: "Keeping good local players at home has been extremely important to us in the recruiting process and we could not be happier to have Izzy stay in-state and join us at UAB. Izzy is one of those local players whom we feel will be an asset to our midfield or forward lines. A member of the Alabama FC ECNL team, she is a player with non-stop energy. We are excited to follow Izzy in her final season at Vestavia Hills High School."

Faith Phillips | McDonough, Ga. | Union Grove | Alabama FC | 5-3 | Forward
Phillips is coming off back-to-back region championships at Union Grove, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2018. She currently holds the single-season scoring record finding the back of the net 40 times her junior season. A three time All-Region and First Team All-County selection, Phillips was the 2018 Region Player of the Year.
Demers on Phillips: "Even though Faith has not lived here in Birmingham, she has spent a great deal of time playing for Alabama FC as a discovery player. We have seen Faith grow so much as a player in the past year and are very excited to work with her and continue her a path of success. She is a hard-working forward and someone that has a knack for putting herself in opportune areas. Faith will continue to train as an attacking player for us either as the 9 or 10. We are very excited that Faith will be wearing green and gold."

Megan Richardson | Madison, Miss. |Homeschooled | Alabama FC | 5-4 | Midfielder
Richardson, who is homeschooled, has had an excellent career playing club for Alabama FC and was a teammate of both Phillips and Passman. She was selected to the U14 USA National training camp. She also played for the Mississippi Blues of the WPSL.
Demers on Richardson: "Megan is another player that will start her college career at UAB this coming Spring. She has the ability to play in a couple different positions, but we will look to focus her talents in our midfield. She is a two-way midfielder in that she has a strong ability to break up play defensively but also make good decisions on the ball to move forward. A member of Alabama FC playing in the ECNL, Megan has been able to play against some of the top players in the nation. We look forward to working with Megan this Spring and help her adjustment to the college game."

Anika Toth | Oakville, Ontario | King's Christian | Oakville SC | 5-9 | Goalkeeper
Toth brings depth to an already talented stable of keepers. She had the opportunity to represent the Slovak National U19 Women's Team earlier this season and was a member of the Ontario Provincial Team in 2018.
Demers on Toth: "We are ecstatic that Anika will be a Blazer. Anika comes from Oakville, Ontario, Canada and after watching her once we knew that we wanted her here to help continue our defensive traditions. Anika has thrived in the goal this past year, which has landed her opportunities to play with the youth Slovakian national teams. We feel as though we are adding a great deal of experience and talent to our already talented group of goalkeepers."

Melina West | Suwanee, Ga. | Lambert | Atlanta Fire | 5-8 | Defender
A 2019 All-Region 5-7A selection, West is coming off a junior season leading Lambert to a 22-1 record and a berth in the Georgia state championship game. A defender with a reputation of spreading herself all over the field, West anchored the backline that recorded 19 shutouts in 2019. West's aunt is former UAB women's basketball Hall of Famer Wanda Hightower.
Demers on West: "We are thrilled to have Melina join our program and start acclimating to our defensive group. Melina is a strong centerback with a good passing range, excellent in the air and good defensive understanding in situations. Melina has consistently found her game more and more as we have watched her over the past year, and we are very excited about the depth she will add to our backline."

Jessica Wheeler | Sharpsburg, Ga. | Northgate | Concorde Fire | 5-4 | Midfield
Wheeler, who played for Northgate during the 2017 and 2019 seasons, led the Vikings to the state playoffs both seasons. In her two seasons, she was named 2017 All-Region Freshman of the Year and All-County in 2017 and 2019. She played club for the Concorde Fire leading them to the Champions League National semifinals in 2015.
Demers on Wheeler: "Jessica brings a great deal of ability to UAB but two things that we are most excited about are her knowledge of the game and pure love of soccer. She is a player that can make the game look very simple as she is always two steps ahead of what needs to occur in the attack. Jessica is a current member of the Concorde Fire DA team, gaining a wealth of experience playing with and against some of the best talent in the country.

Although the women's soccer season has concluded, the 2019-20 Gold Card for $65 is still available. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all UAB men's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, softball and baseball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

UAB Women's Soccer Signs Eight Players

Players Mentioned

Lizzie Hill

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