BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer program signed six players for the 2004 season, LSU co-head coach George Fotopoulos announced on Monday.
Keeli Cahalan, Holly Davis, Marie Hastings, Sarah Pollock, Caroline Vanderpool, and Valerie Vogler will join the Tigers’ squad in 2004, and are part of Fotopoulos’ fifth signing class. Pollock, the daughter of LSU head gymnastics coach D.D. Breaux, is the lone signee from Louisiana.
Cahalan a goalkeeper, attends Countryside High School in Clearwater, Fla., and was her team’s defensive player of the year in 2002 and was an all-state selection. She was a member of both the Honor Roll and Dean’s list each year and plays for the Blackwatch Soccer Club. Cahalan also played for the Florida State ODP Team for three seasons.
“Keeli is a highly-touted goalkeeper out of the state of Florida and brings a lot of quickness and good ball-handling ability, and will compete for the starting goalkeeper position,” said Fotopoulos.
Davis is a transfer from Texas A&M and attended Kingwood High School. Davis played in 28 games over two seasons for the Aggies, starting six games as an outside midfielder and defender. She helped Texas A&M to a top-15 final ranking each season and earned a 3.75 gpa. Davis was a member of the 5-A state championship team in 1999 and was her team’s MVP. She played for the Challenge Soccer Club Team where she was part of the Southeast Regional Championship squad in 1998 and won the South Texas State Championship in 1996 and 1998-2001. Davis was also a member of the South Texas ODP State Team from 1998-2001.
“Holly comes here as a starter from Texas A&M where she helped lead them to a final-eight appearance back in 2002 and I think she will bring a great amount of experience and I expect her to compete for our starting back left position,” said Fotopoulos.
Hastings, a midfielder, attends Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Fla. She was her team’s MVP during the 2001-02 season and also made the Gainesville Sun All-Area Team in both 2001 and 2002. Hastings, like Cahalan, plays for the Blackwatch Soccer Club.
“Marie is someone who will bring us a lot of depth in the center of the midfield and is a tenacious tackler. I think that she will be a great ball winner for us in the middle of the field,” said Fotopoulos.
Pollock is currently enrolled at Robert E. Lee High in Baton Rouge where she played both midfield and forward and was a member of the Academic Honor Roll all four years. Pollock made the All-Metro Team in 2003; was named First-Team All-District in 2002 and 2003 and was named District MVP in 2003. She is a member of the Baton Rouge Soccer Club which won state titles in 2002 and 2003 and made it to the Southeast Regional Semifinals in 2002. Pollock has been a member of the Louisiana ODP State Team since 2001.
“Sarah brings a lot of tradition behind her being the daughter of longtime gymnastics coach D.D. Breaux, and I think she will give us a lot of depth in the outside midfield position,” said Fotopoulos.
Vanderpool, a defender, attends Ecole Secondaire Felix-Leclerc in Dollard-des-Oreaux, Quebec, and played on the Quebec Provincial team for four years. She also won a silver medal at the 2001 National Championships and has been a member of the national pool team since 2001.
Vogler, a goalkeeper, attends Oakville Senior High School in St. Louis where she was a First-Team All-Conference selection in 2001 and was part of a district championship team that season. Vogler was her team’s starting goalkeeper for three seasons and was named a “Who’s Who in American High School Students”. She is a member of the Bush Soccer Club and has been playing for the Missouri ODP State Team since 2001, and helped lead her team to a Regional ODP Championship in 2003.
“Valerie will be competing for our goalkeeper position and she has tremendous size and strength that is necessary to compete in the SEC,” said Fotopoulos.
The Tigers will hold their annual spring game on March 6 at 1 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex, and prior to that will hold the first Media Soccer Game at 10 a.m. The Tiger Soccer Jamboree will be held on April 17 for all area youth soccer players ages 6-8.
2004 LSU Soccer Signing Class
Keeli Cahalan, GK, Clearwater, Fla.
Holly Davis, M, Kingwood, Texas
Marie Hastings, M, Gainesville, Fla.
Sarah Pollock, M, Baton Rouge, La.
Caroline Vanderpool, D, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec
Valerie Vogler, GK, St. Louis, Mo.