TCU women’s soccer program unveils 11-player recruiting class

FORT WORTH (Via Texas Christian University) – TCU women’s soccer head coach Eric Bell has announced the 2019 signing class featuring 11 student-athletes.

The signing class features five athletes from the state of Texas, three from California and one each from Finland, Missouri and Washington. Representing Texas are Gracie Brian (Frisco), Grace Collins (Houston), Belerico Oquendo (Euless), McKenna Saul (Burleson) and Michelle Slater (Plano). Hailing from California are Julia Lucero (San Diego), Laney Peabody (Los Angeles) and Lexi Wallace (San Diego). Lily Cook heads to TCU from Kansas City, Mo., while Annika Vadset makes her way to Fort Worth from Seattle, Wash. Selma Vidgren is TCU’s lone international representative, hailing from Finland.

“We are really excited to welcome this class to TCU,” said Bell. “We have spent a lot of time putting this class together and we believe the TCU fans are going to enjoy watching these young women at Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium. We feel like this class addresses a lot of the needs for 2019. These young ladies come equipped with skill-sets that fit what we are trying to do from a soccer standpoint. We can’t wait to them to arrive this summer!”

Gracie Brian ·MF ·Frisco, Texas (Wakeland HS/Sting Soccer Club)
Played club soccer with Sting Soccer Club under Tatu Pecorari… teammates with incoming freshman McKenna Saul… was a standout at Wakeland High School, leading the team in goal scoring all four years… as a senior, she set the school record for goals in a season and goals in her career… earned first-team all-district honors all four years and was named the District MVP as a junior and senior… helped lead her team to the State Championship as a junior… twice named second-team all-state as a sophomore and junior in addition to being named first-team all-state as a senior… selected to the UIL State All-Tournament team as a junior… two time Dallas Morning News all-area selection as a junior and senior… participated in the TASCO Senior All-Star Game… also earned Academic All-District honors as a senior.

Bell on Gracie Brian:  
“We have watched Gracie play for a long time and are very excited with what she brings to TCU.  There are very few players as competitive as Gracie Brian, and this will serve her well at TCU.  She is an exciting attacking player who has the ability to create goals for her teammates as well for herself.”

Grace Collins ·F ·Houston, Texas (Memorial HS/Albion Hurricanes Football Club)
Played club soccer for Rafa Brazo and Danny Hill at Albion Hurricanes Football Club… was the 2017-18 Gatorade Texas Girls Soccer Player of the Year… ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the #52 player in the country and the #6 athlete in Texas… also earned USA Today second-team All-Girls Soccer honors and Teamsnap first-team High School Winter All-American honors… garnered MVP honors after helping guide Memorial High School to the 6A State championship in 2018… was named the TGCA Soccer Athlete of the Year as a junior… named District Offensive MVP three times… was a two-time first-team all-region performer and a first-team all-state forward as a junior… scored a school-record 42 goals as a freshman… finished high school career with 99 goals and 39 assists…  member of the US National Team Texas pool training from 2012-15 and in 2017… participated in the ECNL National id2 Camp in 2017 and the Florida National Showcase in January of 2017.

Bell on Grace Collins: 
“We can’t wait to have Grace here on campus. She is going to be a joy for the Horned Frog family to watch. Grace has the unique ability to impact the game in so many different ways.  She can score goals from different areas of the field as well as run out of the midfield with the ball into the attack. We expect her to have a big impact on our style of soccer in the midfield.”

Lily Cook ·D  ·Kansas City, Mo. (Blue Valley North HS/Sporting Blue Valley)
Played club soccer for Sporting Blue Valley under the guidance of Adam Lamb and Colin Bulowich… was a four-year member of the club… played two years of high school soccer… earned first-team all-state honors as a sophomore… was twice honored as a second-team all-Eastern Kansas League player… helped lead her squad to the regional championship and a runner-up finish at the state championships as a sophomore… earned the President’s Award for Outstanding Academic excellence as a senior.

Bell on Lily Cook: 
“Lily comes to TCU from a top youth club environment. We are excited about what she can bring to our team. Her athleticism and competitiveness will allow her to compete for playing time right away. We look forward to getting her in to our training environment and seeing her progress.”

Julia Lucero ·MF ·San Diego, Calif. (San Dieguito Academy HS/San Diego Surf)
Played club soccer for San Diego Surf under Danny Tonks… teammates with incoming Horned Frog Lexi Wallace… earned TopDrawerSoccer Standout Player of the Week honors… top goal scorer on undefeated Flight 1 So Cal Development Soccer league squad… team qualified for the National Cup Final… earned MVP honors and first-team all-league honors as a freshman… was the Offensive Player of the Year and all-league as a sophomore… led the league in points (33), goals (12) and assists (9) as a senior… earned first-team all-league honors… helped lead her team to a third place finish at the Valencia Cup.

Bell on Julia Lucero: 
“We look forward to having Julia here in our program. She is an extremely technical soccer player that is top notch in keeping possession and finding her teammates in great areas of the field. We love her competitiveness as well.  She’s a soccer player; she wants the ball and will value it in possession. She has a very high soccer IQ which should serve her well in our environment.”

Belerica Oquendo – D – Euless, Texas (Euless Trinity HS/Dallas Kicks/D’Feeters Kicks)
Played club soccer for Juan Martinez at the Dallas Kicks/D’Feeters Soccer Club… was a team captain… helped lead her squad to a trio of LHGCL Grand Champion titles and North Texas ESPN Copa Championships… also won four North Texas State Cup championships… won eight other titles with the Kicks… also a member of Puerto Rico’s Women’s U17 National Team… participated in the 2017 Caribbean Football Union championships and advanced to the 2018 CONCACAF U17 Championships in Nicaragua… played in the FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup qualifier… played two friendly games against Guatemala with the Women’s National Team… also trained with the WNT for the Pre-Olympics… three-time all-district selection… named Offensive MVP as a senior.

Bell on Belerica Oquendo:  
“Belerica is a local player from nearby Euless who we have seen through the years with her club team. She is a very good defender that is good on the ball and likes to get forward in the attack.  We look forward to having her in the program and competing for playing time.”

Laney Peabody – D – Los Angeles, Calif. (Mater Dei HS/Strikers ECNL)
Played club soccer with the Strikers ECNL under Terri Patraw… earned team MVP honors as a freshman and sophomore at Mater Dei… advanced to the CIF title game in her sophomore campaign… earned team offensive MVP honors as a junior… selected as team captain as a senior… earned the team’s defensive MVP award.

Bell on Laney Peabody: 
“We were able to find Laney a little later in the recruiting process. And we are glad we did. We believe she is going to bring a lot of competition to the team. She can play in a variety of spots and be successful in each of those. She is good in possession and also can get forward in the attack. We are excited to have her join us here at TCU.”

McKenna Saul – F – Burleson, Texas (Burleson HS/Sting Soccer Club)
Played club soccer with Sting Soccer Club under Tatu Pecorari… teammates with incoming freshman Gracie Brian… named to the 2014 USYSA Best 11 at the National Championships in Virginia… attended a 2014 and 2016 id2 training camp… participated in the ECNL Player Development Program in 2016 and 2017… two-time ECNL team captain… was a TopDrawerSoccer three star recruit… ranked #30 in the region by TopDrawerSoccer… named District 8-5A Utility Player of the Year as a freshman… earned second-team all-region area as a freshman… member of the National Honor Society.

Bell on McKenna Saul: 
“McKenna is an exciting attacking player who we know the fans will enjoy watching. She is a forward who creates chances with her pace and hard work. She is another very competitive player who is going to impact the team in many ways. We are excited to have her join us.”

Michelle Slater – MF – Plano, Texas (Plano West HS/Solar Soccer Club)
Member of the Solar Soccer Club where she played for Jason Bates… was a three-time North Texas State Cup Champions with the Dallas Kicks… team was the U16 ECNL Texas Conference Champions… participated in the ODP National Camp… was a member of the ODP Region III Regional team… took part in the id2 training camp… was the offensive MVP at Plano West as a sophomore.

Bell on Michelle Slater: 
“We look forward to Michelle having a big impact on the team here at TCU.  She is a very technical soccer player and does a very good job of keeping possession. With the ability to play multiple positions, her versatility will impact our team in many different ways. We know the TCU fans will enjoy watching her over the next four years.”

Annika Vadset – GK – Seattle, Wash. (North Kitsap HS/Seattle Reign)
Played club soccer for Seattle Reign under the guidance of Sam Laity and Doug Herrick… invited to attend the 2017 ECNL Player Development Program Northwest event… member of the 2016 and 2017 Washington Elite Player Development team that placed second…  started on the state 2B championship team as an eighth grader… two year varsity starter as a freshman and sophomore… earned first-team All-Olympic League as a sophomore… a Washington State All-Westsound Team honoree… named Female Freshman Athlete of the Year in high school… four year honor roll member.

Bell on Annika Vadset:  
“Annika is very good goalkeeper who we are looking forward to adding to our goalkeeping unit. The goalkeeper position here at TCU is quickly become a tradition-rich position and we believe Annika will continue that tradition. She is a very good shot stopper, comfortable with the ball at her feet and her communication is outstanding. We are excited for her future.”

Selma Vidgren – D – Finland (IMG Academy)
Studied and played soccer at IMG Academy… participated on the U19 Elite and DA under the guidance of Miguel Rodriguez and Donald Cameron… named Defender of the Year as a sophomore… helped squad with the Disney Qualifiers and place second in the tournament… as a junior led the team to the IMG Cup Showcase championship… team went undefeated and won the league en route to a Nationals appearance.

Bell on Selma Vidgren: 
“We are excited Selma is joining the program. She plays in the back line and is a very good ball winning center back who looks to keep the ball when we have possession. She comes from a very professional environment at IMG and we expect her to flourish in our program here at TCU.”

Lexi Wallace – MF – San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS/San Diego Surf)
Played club soccer for San Diego Surf under Danny Tonks… teammates with incoming Horned Frog Julia Lucero… team placed second in the Seattle 2018 ENCL championships… also participated in the Copa Del Mar tournament in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Blues Cup in 2018… member of the Cal South Olympic Development Program in 2017 and 2018… played four years at Torrey Pines High School… earned the San Diego All-Academic Award for Academic Excellence all four years… team won the CIF Open Division as a freshman and sophomore.

Bell on Lexi Wallace: 
“Lexi is a very versatile flank player who we expect to compete for playing time at TCU during her career. She can play as an outside back player who looks to get forward, or higher up the field as a true winger. She comes from a top club environment and we look for her to make big strides under our guidance.”