DURANGO, Colo. — Fort Lewis College women’s soccer coach Damian Clarke announced the addition of Kate Sowell to his 2012 recruiting class.

Sowell, a 5-foot-4 outside midfielder from Ponderosa High School, is a four-year starter for the Mustangs who earned all-state honorable mention as a junior. A three-sport letterwinner and team captain, she also competes in cross country and basketball at Ponderosa.

“In addition to playing soccer and basketball and running cross country at Ponderosa, Kate is also a great student and will graduate near the top of her class with a 3.7 GPA,” said Clarke, who begins his sixth season as head coach for the Skyhawks next fall. “She came to our Elite Girls Camp in 2011 and impressed us all with her work rate and her footballing ability. Kate is a midfield player that we see playing wide for us. She is a strong athlete who is technically very sound and has good vision in her pass selection. Kate is also capable of scoring goals and any time you can add a midfielder who can cause problems in the final third, you get better for it.”

Sowell is a two-year member of the National Honor Society and an academic letterwinner at Ponderosa. She’s also an active volunteer whose activities include the Mini-Mustang basketball program, Café 180 (which helps feed the homeless on Thanksgiving), Rebuild Denver, Rotary Club, helping with downtown Parker’s Trick or Treat Street, and doing yard work for the elderly.

The daughter of Todd and Dara-Lynn Sowell of Parker, Colo., Sowell plans to major in Pre-Health at Fort Lewis.

Sowell joins seven players who have signed with the Skyhawks thus far in 2012: Molly Celler, a 5-foot-10 defender from Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz.; Jordan Hix, a 5-foot-9 midfielder/defender from Eldorado High School in Albuquerque, N.M.; Brooke Milliet, a 5-foot-5 attacking player from Durango High School; Savannah Seiter, a 5-foot-4 midfielder from Durango; Grace Sheridan, a 5-foot-9 defender from Lakewood High School; Dani Sheppard, a 5-foot-7 goalkeeper from Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo.; and Laura Tita, a 5-foot-9 central defender from Highlands Ranch.

Fort Lewis (15-3-4 overall, 10-2-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) finished the season ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division II. The Skyhawks lose just four seniors to graduation: midfielder Sara Egbom, forward Hayley Hollenga, midfielder Jane Barden, and defender Michelle Felten.

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