Eight to join Florida women’s soccer in fall of 2013

An eight-member class will bring experience spanning from regional to international levels to the Florida women’s soccer team next fall, Gator head coach Becky Burleigh announced Monday morning.

“It is exciting for us that we get to welcome a new class,” Burleigh said. “We have a great senior class to replace so it is really important for this class to be a class of people that we thought could contribute right away and I think we accomplished that.”

This group has played with state, regional, national and/or international teams, including goalkeeper signee Nora Neset Gjøen (Bergen, Norway), who is currently in Portugal with Norway’s Senior National Team for the Algarve Cup. Another international signee, Pamela Begič (Semic, Slovenia), has played with Slovenia’s team in qualifying action for the 2013 Women’s EURO. Liz Slattery (Cincinnati, Ohio) is a 2011 and 2012 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) High School All-America selection. Meggie Dougherty Howard (Largo, Fla.) and Savannah Jordan (Fayetteville, Ga.) have attended age group national camp at the U.S. National Training Center in Carson, Calif.  Kristen Cardano (Tulsa, Okla.), Jordan, Katie Richmond (Pensacola, Fla.) and Brooke Sharpe (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) all have been part of state and regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams.

Two members of the class, Gjøen and Jordan, enrolled at Florida for the spring 2013 semester.

Pamela Begič
Part of Slovenia team in qualifying for 2013 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Under-19 Championship…Member of Slovenia’s team in qualifying for 2013 Women’s EURO…Appeared in match against U.S. U-17 team in July of 2012…member of ŽNK Slovenj Gradec club team in the top division of Slovenian women’s soccer.

Kristen Cardano
Region III Olympic Development Program (ODP) pool player (2010-11)…Part of 2009-11 Oklahoma State ’94 ODP team…Member of TSC Hurricane ’95 Club team which was among the 2012 Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) A top 16 final and won 2011 Oklahoma U16 State Cup…Coached by Kerry Shubert at TSC…Jenks High School reached 2012 Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) Class 6A semifinal…Jenks H.S. won 2011 Heart of America Soccer Classic in Kansas City, Mo., and took third in 2012…Named to 2011 Heart of America Classic All-Tournament team…Tulsa All-Metro second-team selection in 2011 and also part of all-district teams…Second-highest scorer for 2011Jenks H.S. team with 18 goals and 10 assists…Coached by Kalyn Reinhardt at Jenks H.S…Also competed in track & field, recording 20-plus first-place finishes in 50-800-meters, 1600-meter relay, long jump and pentathlon…2011 and 2012 Frontier Valley Academic All-Conference selection…Will graduate from Jenks H.S. this spring.

Meggie Dougherty Howard
Attended U.S. Under 15 Girls’ National Team camp in Carson, Calif., at the U.S. Soccer Federation National Training Center in November of 2011 and again in summer of 2012…Member of Tampa Bay United Premier Girls 94 club team, which won the 2011 and 2012 Disney Qualifier…Prior to joining Tampa Bay United, played for boys teams from 2004-11 and those teams won the Disney Showcase and President’s Day team titles in 2010…Coached by George Fotopoulos at Tampa Bay United…Member of St. Petersburg Catholic High School team as a freshman and a senior…St. Petersburg Catholic H.S. reached the 2013 Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A regional final…Multi-sport athlete, running second leg of SPC H.S.’s 4×800-meter relay which advanced to the 2012 FHSAA Class 1A Championships…High school’s diving MVP in 2010 and 2011…Member of National, Math and Science Honor Societies and president of Latin Honor Society…Will graduate from SPC High School in spring of 2013.

Nora Neset Gjøen
Part of Norway’s 2013 Algarve Cup roster which began Group A play on March 6 in Portugal…Played the entirety of Norway’s four matches in 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan…Competed with Norway’s Women’s U-15, U-16, U-17, U-19, U-20, U-23 and Senior national teams…Starting goalkeeper for Norway in 2012 Women’s U-23 Four Nations Tournament in Spain which involved teams from England, U.S. and Sweden…Attended three camps with Norway Senior National team (twice in 2012 and one in 2011)…Goalkeeper for IL Sandviken soccer club in Bergen, Norway, since January of 2012…Joined IL Sandviken after playing with LSK Kvinner and Arna Bjørnar clubs…While with Arna Bjørnar, played on loan for Åsane in the second division and FBK Voss in first division…Also member of IL Gneist (1998-2007) and Øygard (2008) club teams…Ended 2011 season with LSK Kvinner which took fifth-place in the Norwegian Women’s Premiere League…Also played handball…Graduated from Knarvik Videregående Skule in 2012…Enrolled at the University of Florida for spring 2013 semester.

Savannah Jordan
Five-year captain of Georgia Olympic Development Program (ODP) state team…Member of Region III ODP team from 2008-12…Traveled with ODP teams every year to play internationally, making trips to Costa Rica, France, Germany Holland, Switzerland and Italy…Attended U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team at Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., in December of 2011…Also attended U-14 National camp…Captain each of five seasons with Concorde Fire South ’95 Elite club team and coached by Brian Moore…Top-ranked club team in Georgia and second in Region III from 2010-12…Team took third in 2010 and 2009 Region III Premier League and was second in 2007-08…Five time selection to Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) national and ECNL All-Event teams…Played only junior season with Whitewater High School soccer program due to travel team commitments…Whitewater H.S. was runner-up in 2012 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAA after a penalty kick decision in the championship match…MVP of GHSA Class AAAA final match…Also earned all-region and all-state honors after scoring 26 goals and posting 21 assists as a junior…Finalist for Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior…Holds all-county record in triple jump and part of record-holding 4×400 and 4×100 relays…Three-time U.S. Junior Olympic gold medalist for martial arts sparring (2003, 2004, 2005)…Member of high school National Honor Society and Beta Club…Graduated from Whitewater H.S. in December of 2012 and enrolled at the University of Florida in January of 2013.

Katie Richmond
Three-year member of Olympic Development Program (ODP) A team (2009, 2010, 2011)…ODP Region III pool selection in 2010…Played in 2010 Region III championship match…Member of the Gulf Coast Texans club team for past seven years and coached by David Kemp…Only high school member of Gulf Coast Texans which won 2012 Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Southeast Conference and national championship…Team reached Disney Soccer Showcase final in 2010…Runner-up in 2009 Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) championship match…2011 Gulf State Premier League champions…Four-year member of Pensacola Catholic High School…PCHS reached 2013 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 2A state semifinal and also 2010 3A state semifinal…Team reached regional final in 2012 (2A) and 2011 (3A)…2010, 2011 and 2012 Pensacola News Journal all-area first-team selection…Scored 40 goals as a senior and 30 in junior season…Coached by Breck Smith at PCHS…National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta member…Will graduate in top 10 percent of Pensacola Catholic High School this spring.

Brooke Sharp
Region III Olympic Development Program (ODP) selection in 2010…2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Florida State ODP A Team…Led Ponte Vedra Storm club team in scoring in each of the last five seasons…Ponte Vedra Storm is a three-time state cup champion in Florida (2008, 2009, 2011)…Scored game-winning goal in 2011 State Cup semifinal and final…Led Ponte Vedra 94/95 Storm team to the 2009 and 2011 Southern Regionals…Coached by Daniel Villarreal at Ponte Vedra Storm…Member of Ponte Vedra High School team which claimed 2012 Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A Soccer Championship and was runner-up in 2013…PV H.S. also reached 2011 4A semifinal and 2010 regional semifinal…2013 Florida Dairy Farmers 3A Player of the Year…Scored 30 goals and turned in 17 assists as a senior…Also had 28 goals as a junior, 25 as a sophomore and 20 as a freshman…2012 and 2011 Times-Union All-First Coast first team selection…2011 Player of the Year in St. John’s County, Fla….Coached by Dave Silverburg at PV H.S….Great granddaughter of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi…Will graduate from Ponte Vedra High School this spring.

Liz Slattery
2012 and 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) High School All-America selection at midfield…Finished career with Indian Hills High School with 66 goals and 36 assists…2012 and 2011 all-Ohio Division II first team selection at midfield by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association…2012 and 2011 Southwest Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Girls Division II Player of the Year…Cincinnati Enquirer Player of the Year after turning in 17 goals and six assists as a senior and 26 goals and 13 assists as a junior…Indian Hill H.S. won Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) district title each year of prep career and twice advanced to state semifinals…2011 ESPN High School fall girls’ soccer state all-star selection…2012 Cincinnati Hills League conference player of the year and also first-team selection for third consecutive year…Coached by Amy Dunlap at Indian Hill H.S…All-state and all-city Scholar-Athlete…Seven-year member of Cincinnati United Premier club team and coached by Scott Rodgers…Also played basketball and part of Indian Hill H.S.’s diving team, earning most improved for both sports…National Honor Society member…Will graduate from Indian Hill H.S. this spring.