Duke University women’s soccer head coach Robbie Church announced Friday the addition of six signees for the 2016 campaign, which has been tabbed fifth nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

“We feel very good about this recruiting class,” commented Church.  “We think they’re going to represent the Duke University women’s soccer program both on the field and in the classroom very, very well. They’re all quality students and they’re all very, very good athletes. With our returning players that will be coming back and bringing in the new class, this will be one of our deepest and most talented teams we’ve ever had here at Duke, so we look forward to that.  It’s going to make some great competition starting in August in our preseason, so we look forward to the battles that will consist in August.”

Emma Carlson of Lilburn, Ga., Mia Gyau of Colesville, Md., Brooke Heinsohn of Norfolk, Mass., Lexi Magliarditi of Newport Coast, Calif., Ella Stevens of Grayson, Ga., and Emily Wilson of Potomac, Md., will all attend Duke University in the fall and play soccer.  The Blue Devils will add one more recruit to the class that ranks in the top 45 nationally in the next couple of months.

In the latest TopDrawerSoccer.com individual rankings, Gyau and Stevens are listed as the No.7 and No. 11 overall players, respectively, in the class.  Gyau is tabbed as the No. 4 midfielder in the 2016 class, while Heinsohn was the No. 1 goalkeeper. Carlson was the seventh-best defender and Stevens was selected as the eighth-best midfielder.

“I’m probably the most excited that we’ve just got quality all over the board in this class on each line—goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards,” said Church. “And with returning a number of our players from last year’s team, it’s just going to provide us depth. Our goal is to get two players in each position that are really good players. That sets up for when you have injuries or when you play a Friday/Sunday that players can play.  It sets up really good competition during the training session, so if we could do that, we’ll be as close as we’ve been in a long time.  It will just be a very big benefit for the whole team.”

A player-by-player listing is below:

Emma Carlson
5-6  •  Defender/Midfielder  •  Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview H.S.)

National Team Experience:
Trained with the U-14 National Team.

Regional Team Experience:
Traveled to England with her Region III ODP squad … made the trip to Germany in 2013 with the Region III ODP team … was a part of the Region III ODP team that traveled to Costa Rica in 2012.

High School/Club:
Ranked No. 58 in the class of 2016 by TopDrawerSoccer.com … listed No. 7 overall in the South Atlantic Region … slated as the seventh-best defender in the class … enters her senior campaign with 86 goals and 23 assists over three years … three-time Gwinnett County All-Region Midfielder of the Year in 2013, 2014 and 2015 … three-time Goal Club Coaches All-County Team … served as captain as a sophomore, junior and senior … has yet to play her senior campaign … tallied 24 goals and 11 assists as a junior … NSCAA All-Region selection … Gwinnett Super Six honoree … her team posted a 15-5-0 mark … scored a career-best 35 goals and added seven assists as a sophomore … the 35 goals was a school record for a season … Gwinnett Super Six selection … helped her squad finish with a 19-3-0 mark … as a freshman, scored 27 goals and had five assists … helped lead her Parkview H.S. team to the 6A State Championship … guided her team to a 20-3-1 record … GSA ECNL Nationals from 2012-15.

Personal:
Full name is Emma Haley Carlson … born Oct. 3, 1997 in Atlanta, Ga. … daughter of Dodd Carlson and Erin Haley … has two brothers, Lucas (24) and Max (15) … member of the National Honor Society … a four-year member of the Honor Roll … owns a 4.0 grade-point average.

Church on Carlson:
“Emma is a real leader on the field. She’s one that down the road you could see being a captain in your program. She’s very smart and she reads the game very well. We look at her primarily as a center back, but she’s got versatility where she can also step into the midfield.  She might be able to step in as a wide back, too. I think she can be a great leader in that area, and she connects passes very well, and that’s what we demand of our center backs. Our back four really set the table for us a lot and Emma can do that.  She can connect smaller passes in the midfield, and then she has a pretty good range on her balls to be able to open up the field.”


Mia Gyau
5-6  •  Forward/Defender   •  Colesville, Md. (Bullis School)

National Team Experience:
Trained with the U-14, U-15 and U-17 teams … member of the U-18 and U-20 National Teams … traveled to Jamaica with the U-17 National Team for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier … competed with the U-17 squad for the England Friendlies in 2013 … picked up three international caps with the U-17 National Team for the Four Nations Tournament in San Jose, Costa Rica.

High School/Club:
Ranked No. 7 overall in the class of 2016 by TopDrawerSoccer.com … listed No. 1 overall in the Mid-Atlantic Region … ranked as the fourth-best midfielder in the class … a three-time NSCAA Youth All-America selection … did not play high school soccer … played club soccer for the Bethesda Lions boys team, U-15 Pre-Academy Bethesda boys team and McLean U-18 ECNL … continues to train with the U-16 and U-18 Bethesda Boys Academy teams … 2012 Disney Showcase, National Championships (third place) and Region I League Champions … 2011 and 2012 Region I Champions and Maryland State Champions … 2011 Jefferson Cup Champions … four-time AAU track & field All-America … five-time Elite Youth Track All-America.

Personal:
Full name is Mia Irene Gyau … born June 22, 1998 in Silver Spring, Md. … daughter of Phillip and Leslie Gyau … has one brother, Joseph-Claude (23) … member of the National Honor Society.

Church on Gyau:
“We are really excited to have Mia come into our class. She’s another player that’s very versatile.  She will bring athleticism and she’ll probably be in the top 10 percent of athletes that we have in our program. We see her as a wide player, either on the right hand side as a wide back or a player that can play as a wide forward, No. 7 and No. 11 positions. She has the ability to score goals, she’s a good one-v-one player, and she’s also a good one-v-one defender. Mia has been involved in the national programs, and typically with the national programs she plays as a wide back, but in a club team and in training, she’s played as a forward, so we really look forward to kind of blend in with some of the other players we have and she can really be a great threat, especially because we like to counter-attack.  Mia could be a great player in our counter-attacking system.”


Brooke Heinsohn
6-1  •  Goalkeeper   •  Norfolk, Mass. (The Rivers School)

National Team Experience:
Attended the U-20 National Team camp in January of 2016 … on the U-20 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying roster in San Pedro Sula, Honduras that won the championship … trained with the U-20 National Team in August of 2015 and then in September of 2015 was in the Honduras Camp where she collected her first international shutout … made first international cap in an August Mexico City Camp in 2015 with the U-18 National Team … member of U-17 National Team in 2013 … U-15 and U-14 Girls National Team pool.

Regional Team Experience:
Traveled to Russia in 2014 with the ’96 Region I Team … member of ’98 Region I Team that went to Costa Rica in 2013 … ’98 Interregional Event (2012-14) … ’98 Region I Team (2011-14) … ’98 Massachusetts ODP team (2010-14) … ’97 Region I Player Pool (2010-11) … ’97 Massachusetts ODP team (2009-10).

High School/Club:
Ranked No. 24 in the class of 2016 by TopDrawersoccer.com … is No. 2 overall in the Northeast Region rankings … tabbed as the top goalkeeper in the class … 2015 NSCAA All-America … two-time First Team All-ISL as a junior and senior … collected 49 shutouts in 58 high school appearances for The Rivers School … led her squad to back-to-back ISL Championships in 2014 and 2015 … NEPSAC Class B Champion in 2013 and 2015 … as a senior, tallied nine shutouts in 11 matches … First Team All-State and All-New England … selected to play in the Girls All-America Game … co-captain … collected 13 shutouts in 17 matches as a junior … ISL finalist … NEPSAC Class B semi-finalist … registered 13 shutouts in 15 matches as a sophomore … ISL finalist … as a freshman, tallied a career-high 14 shutouts in 15 matches … NEPSAC Class B and ISL finalist … played with the New England Futbol Club (NEFC) since 2008 … U-18 NPL National Champion in 2015 … U-18 State Cup Champion in 2015, U-18 Regional Cup Champion in 2015 … U-16 Mass State Cup finalist in 2014 … U-15 Mass State Cup semifinalist in 2013 … U-14 Mass State Cup finalist in 2012 … U-13 Mass State Cup Champion in 2011.

Personal:
Full name is Brooke Elizabeth Heinsohn … born March 11, 1998 in Newton, Mass. … daughter of Paul and Carmel Heinsohn … has two sisters, Danielle (24) and Victoria (21) … her grandfather, Tommy, played for the Boston Celtics (1956-65), coached with the Celtics (1969-79) and has been the television announcer for the Boston Celtics since 1980 … her father, Paul, played football at Duke (1978-80) and graduated in 1982 … her mother, Carmel, graduated from Duke in 1982 … her sister, Danielle, played soccer at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (2010-13) … The Rivers School Honor Roll from 2012-15.

Church on Heinsohn:
“Brooke has turned, obviously, into a big time goalkeeper. We’re very happy to have Brooke joining us. She’s been training, for about the last year, with the U-20 national team, and she’ll continue to train with them through the spring and then we’ll see what happens with being named to the final roster. She has great size and athleticism, she has very good kicking and she controls the box with it too. Brooke will add depth with our returning keeper EJ Proctor, who had a fantastic year.  It should be a great battle to see those two against each other, making each other better. Brooke is one of the top goalkeepers in the country and we’re very fortunate to have her coming to Duke.”


Lexi Magliarditi
5-7  •  Forward   •  Newport Coast, Calif. (Sage Hill School)

Regional Team Experience:
Member of Region ODP squad from 2010-13 and State ODP from 2009-13.

High School/Club:
Ranked No. 100 in the class of 2016 by TopDrawersoccer.com … listed No. 20 in the Southern California Region rankings … ranked as the 34th best forward in the class … has yet to play her senior season … as a junior, registered a school-record 32 goals along with 10 assists … named Offensive MVP … scored a school-record nine goals in a single game … led Sage Hill School to the first league title in seven years and its first undefeated season in school history with a 12-0 record … ran track and field as a sophomore and freshman … the state runner-up in the 100m and a finalist in the 200m (4th overall) as a sophomore … played for the Slammers FC and led the squad in points for four straight years … helped lead the team to the U-17 National finals and were ranked as high as No. 4 nationally.

Personal:
Full name is Lexington Haze Magliarditi … born Oct. 18, 1997 … daughter of Joseph and Rosetta Magliarditi … has one sister, Taylor (16) … her grandfather, Joseph D., played professional baseball, after being drafted out of high school by the Pittsburgh Pirates … her father, Joseph A., was a professional kick boxer … her uncle, Marc, was an All-America at Western Michigan in hockey and went on to be drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks; played professionally from 1997-2006 … an AP Scholar … member of National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society … founder and active volunteer of Caring Companions, an effort to enhance the life of senior citizens.

Church on Magliarditi:
“Lexi is another very athletic player. She’s quick, her acceleration is outstanding and is a goal scorer.   She has really done well over the past 24 months in club action She changed club teams to a very competitive team in California and she’s done a great job of scoring goals. Lexi has made very good runs off the ball; that’s where we’ve been most impressed with her. Her vision out there is outstanding.  Her runs; she makes hard, sharp runs and she has a nose for the goal.  She wants to score goals and she scores big goals. Again, she could come in and she could probably play 3-4 positions. I think Lexi is going to come in and really challenge our players already in those positions and we look forward to bringing her in with our team.”


Ella Stevens
5-6  •  Midfielder/Forward   •  Grayson, Ga. (Grayson H.S.)

National Team Experience:
Helped lead the U-20 National Team to the 2015 CONCACAF Championship in Honduras … member of the U-17 National Team.

Regional Team Experience:
Competed on the Region III team in 2012 as they traveled to Costa Rica.

High School/Club:
Ranked No. 11 overall in the class of 2016 by TopDrawerSoccer.com … listed No. 2 in the South Atlantic Region … ranked as the eighth-best midfielder in the class … Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior … enters her senior campaign with 48 goals and 72 assists in three years … tallied 19 goals and 29 assists as a junior … NSCAA H.S. Spring All-America ... Spring State All-Stars … Super  Six Soccer Gwinnett Daily Post … helped lead Grayson H.S. to a 19-0-3 record and a State Championship … accumulated 33 assists and 18 goals as a sophomore … her team tallied a 21-1-1 record, including state finalists … notched 11 goals and 10 assists as a freshman.

Personal:
Full name is Ella Hendley Stevens … born Dec. 11, 1997 in Snellville, Ga.. … daughter of Chip Stevens and Celeste Baker … has one brother, Bradley (15) … her father, Chip, played soccer at Lander University (1990).

Church on Stevens:
“Ella is probably one of the most creative players in the class of 2016 in the country. We’re thrilled to have Ella come into our system of play. She can play either in midfield as a No. 8 player or at No. 10.  She could play up front, she could be your No. 9, holding balls up well.  She’s just very crafty with the ball. She can play with all surfaces of the foot and she strikes the ball well. From distance Ella scores a lot of goals.  That’s the thing over the past two years she has scored a lot of goals.  She has been involved with the youth national teams, spending time and helping the U-20 team qualify. Ella is going to be a lot of fun.  I think our fans will really, really enjoy watching her play because she is so crafty on the ball and in tight positions. She will really thrive in our system of play.”


Emily Wilson
5-7  •  Midfielder   •  Potomac, Md. (Sidwell Friends School)

High School/Club:
As a senior, notched six goals and six assists … captain … DCSAAA semifinalist … was injured as a junior and did not play … tallied eight goals and five assists during her sophomore campaign … DCSAA finalists … notched seven goals and four assists as a freshman … her Sidwell Friends squad won the regular season championship … DCSAA finalists …  played with McLean ECNL since U-13 … ECNL U-16 North American League finalist … lettered two years in swimming at Sidwell Friends School as a sophomore and senior … lettered one year in track & field.

Personal:
Full name is Emily Katherine Wilson … born March 26, 1998 in Washington, D.C. … daughter of Neal and Coleen Wilson … has one brother, Kyle (23) … has four sisters, Kara (21), Megan (19), Bryn (15) and Kelly (12) … her sister, Kara, will graduate from Duke in May of 2016 and was a four-year letterwinner on the women’s soccer team … her sister, Megan, is a sophomore at Stanford on the track & field squad ... her mother, Coleen, was an All-America on the track & field team at Villanova (1983-87) ... her father, Neal, was on the Columbia track & field team (1984-88) ... her brother, Kyle, was on the rowing team at Michigan (2010-12) ... her grandfather, Patrick Gallagher, played basketball at Holy Cross (1960-64) ... her aunt, Megan, was on the volleyball team at University of Pennsylvania (1988-92) … was a volunteer at the U.S. Soccer Foundation as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Church on Wilson:
“We’re thrilled to have Emily join us.  Her sister Kara, who just finished her eligibility and was drafted by the Washington Spirit, had a wonderful career here, too.  We’re just happy to have the Wilsons still in our program.  Emily is going to be a midfielder, I think she could play a number of different positions as a No. 6 or a No. 8 in the midfield. The thing that’s really impressive about her is her ability to pass the ball. She can connect passes and she plays quickly.  She has been battling injuries for the past couple of years, but she’s starting to get healthy, and when she’s healthy she’s got a really good chance to come in and make an impact on our program. Emily is another girl that can score goals from a distance for us, so that will also be important, and she’s also good playing under pressure. So again, once she gets fully healthy, trains with us and is incorporated into our system of play, I think Emily is going to make great strides for us.”

Duke will return 10-of-11 starters from last season’s NCAA College Cup squad that fell, 1-0, in the national championship match to Penn State.  The Blue Devils lose only midfielder Kara Wilson, but return the remaining parts of a team that exceeded expectations under Church in 2015.

“Obviously we’ve already started work with our players that are here at Duke and we’ve closed the book on 2015,” said Church.  “We’ve started to train now and prepare for next year. We’ve got a lot of talent and we have a lot of people that can play different positions. As I talked about earlier, I’m excited to see the competitiveness that will be within our program for playing time, and when we do sub, I think we can go really, really deep and not have any drop off. I think, especially in college soccer, that can be really helpful, most importantly in our first four weeks. It’s exciting to think about where we could be next August, but right now, the kids are working hard on technical things, getting themselves better and that’s both the players that are here and those coming in. Next August we’ll put them all in together and in our system of play.”

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