University of New Hampshire Athletics
Six Student-Athletes Join UNH for 2017 Season
2/17/2017 9:17:00 AM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.H. – University of New Hampshire women's soccer head coach Steve Welham announces the signing of six freshmen for the 2017 campaign.
The class features student-athletes from five different states and one province. No two are from the same area with Ontario (Canada), Virginia, California, New York, Colorado and Massachusetts all represented.
"We are looking forward to this group of six players as they will help be key additions to an already balanced roster," said Welham. "They bring both athletic talent academic prowess. We welcome them as we continue to pursue the Northeast Region and America East Conference with vigor and with a fervent desire to succeed on and off the field."
Jianna Baroni, a 5-5 forward/midfielder, played at Auburn High School in Massachusetts and played club ball for FC Stars. This past year, the Stars made it to the national semi-finals in Colorado. She earned plenty of hardware from her high school season; SWCL All-Star, Central Mass. All-Star, All-State All-Star and finished her career with a school record of 108 goals. FC Stars made it to nationals in Indiana (NPL) the year prior and she was the top scorer on her team. Jianna has excelled in the classroom as well with Honor Roll recognition all four years of high school.
Welham on Baroni:
"Jianna brings excellent technical ability and speed with the ball…she is also a proven goal scorer. We look forward to her contributions."
PHOTO GALLERY
Sofia Borea is from Oakville, Ontario and is a 5-2 attacking central midfielder at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School. She was captain of the U18 Toronto Blizzard and was invited to the Canada Games Tryouts this year. In her junior year of high school, she was a League 1 Semi-Pro player and played against many Division I University teams which will help her transition to the college game. In her sophomore season, she racked up several accolades, including OYSL/Quebec Soccer Champion, OYSL Undefeated Champion, Disney Soccer Showcase Silver Medalist, Ontario Soccer Provincial Team Player, and OYSL Top-10 Scorer all the while adding several cross country and track & field recognitions such as OFSAA Track & Field 200m and 400m qualifier and OFSAA Cross Country qualifier.
Welham on Borea:
"Vision, awareness, dynamic ability and technical proficiency are all aspects that come quickly to the mind when I watch Sofia play. She has the ability to dictate moments in the game and excel in both the middle and final third of the field."
PHOTO GALLERY
Cameron Droste, from Lone Tree, Colo., is a 5-8 goalkeeper who played at Highlands Ranch High School and for the Colorado Rush. She attended the ECNL PDP Camp in March of 2015 and the Nike id2 Camp in Casa Grande, Ariz. In December of 2013. She was also selected to attend US Soccer Training Centers from 2012-2014. The keeper also played in the ECNL National Finals in July of 2013. Droste also is an excellent student-athlete with a 4.0 GPA.
Welham on Droste:
"Cam is a physically imposing goalkeeper who is technically sound and especially talented with her feet. We look forward to seeing her compete with our goalkeeping core."
PHOTO GALLERY
Kellie McCauley, a 5-4 defender from Mission Viejo, Calif., played at California Preparatory Academy and Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Kellie played her club ball for Strikers FC (ECNL). She has excelled in the classroom as well, earning the Student Athlete Award her freshman year of high school and the Best Student in Oceanography Award her junior year of high school. She also participated in the ODP camp in 2010.
Welham on McCauley:
"Kellie is a very hard working and tenacious defender…she possesses very good recovery speed and is a versatile player."
PHOTO GALLERY
Casey Peterson, a 5-3 midfielder from Clifton, Va., played for Centreville High School and FC Virginia ECNL '98. In her senior season, she played varsity soccer at Centreville and was captain of FC Virginia. In her junior year, Peterson earned All-Conference honors and the Scholar Athlete award with a 4.0 or better grade point average. Her club team finished first in the Mid-Atlantic and attended the National Playoffs in San Diego. During her sophomore season, the midfielder focused on club soccer where she was named team captain and her team finished first in the Mid-Atlantic and went to Seattle for the National Playoffs. She was named All-Conference Honorable Mention and earned the Scholar Athlete Award her freshman season, finishing runner-up in the State Championships. FC Virginia finished first and went to Seattle for the National Playoffs that same year.
Welham on Peterson:
"Casey is a positive life force on and off the field. She has an abundance of energy, is extremely dynamic and technical on the ball and can play in a multitude of positions."
PHOTO GALLERY
Francesca Picicci, a 5-2 center forward/midfielder, is from North Massapequa, N.Y. and played at St. Anthony's High School. She was a Catholic High School A.A Player of the Year, All-Long Island Team First Team and All-State First Team her senior season. Her junior accolades were All-Long Island Second Team as the team were Catholic League Champions and State Champions. With her ECNL Club (Albertson Fury) she earned the Senior Attacking Player of the Year award as a junior. Her Albertson club went to the ECNL finals in Virginia her sophomore season as her high school team was Catholic League Champs and State Champs. She also competed in track and earned the St. Bonaventure Award – averaging a 94.5% all four years - and was named to the National Honor Society.
Welham on Picicci:
"We look forward to seeing Francesca compete and execute in the attacking third and feel her technical ability, work rate, speed and aggression will be key factors that will allow her to have success there."
PHOTO GALLERY
***
UNH played a rigorous 2016 schedule with three teams inside the nation's Top-75 in RPI (Harvard – 44, Northeastern – 57, and Wake Forest – 73) …NCAA Division I Women's Soccer has 334 programs. For the third consecutive year, the Wildcats earned a spot in postseason play and have made at least the semi-finals in two of the last three years (2014 Champions). No. 4 New Hampshire took down No. 5 University of Maine on Oct. 27 at Bremner Field, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats then traveled to the University at Albany in the semifinals. UNH came agonizingly close to pushing overtime with a last second goal waived off. The Wildcats finished 2016 season with the best goal differential since 2007 (+1). Junior Brooke Murphy (Monson, Mass.) earned America East Striker of the Year honors for the second-straight season with a league-leading 25 points and 11 goals. She is only the fourth America East member and second Wildcat to collect it in back-to-back seasons. Michelle Sheehan was the former Wildcat to win the honor for two straight years (2007, 2008). Kendra Prince earned America East First Team Honors and Mimi Borkan earned Second Team Honors. Caroline Wysocki and Liz Lane rounded out the Conference awards as both made the All-Rookie Team respectively.
"We look forward to the future and we feel confident that our new group of players can help us achieve the goals and aspirations that we have on the field and in the classroom."
UNH set the single highest semester team GPA in Women's Soccer history for a third straight year with a 3.56 GPA this fall. 26 of 28 players achieved at least a 3.0 or higher with five members scoring a perfect 4.0.
The class features student-athletes from five different states and one province. No two are from the same area with Ontario (Canada), Virginia, California, New York, Colorado and Massachusetts all represented.
"We are looking forward to this group of six players as they will help be key additions to an already balanced roster," said Welham. "They bring both athletic talent academic prowess. We welcome them as we continue to pursue the Northeast Region and America East Conference with vigor and with a fervent desire to succeed on and off the field."
Jianna Baroni, a 5-5 forward/midfielder, played at Auburn High School in Massachusetts and played club ball for FC Stars. This past year, the Stars made it to the national semi-finals in Colorado. She earned plenty of hardware from her high school season; SWCL All-Star, Central Mass. All-Star, All-State All-Star and finished her career with a school record of 108 goals. FC Stars made it to nationals in Indiana (NPL) the year prior and she was the top scorer on her team. Jianna has excelled in the classroom as well with Honor Roll recognition all four years of high school.
Welham on Baroni:
"Jianna brings excellent technical ability and speed with the ball…she is also a proven goal scorer. We look forward to her contributions."
PHOTO GALLERY
Sofia Borea is from Oakville, Ontario and is a 5-2 attacking central midfielder at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School. She was captain of the U18 Toronto Blizzard and was invited to the Canada Games Tryouts this year. In her junior year of high school, she was a League 1 Semi-Pro player and played against many Division I University teams which will help her transition to the college game. In her sophomore season, she racked up several accolades, including OYSL/Quebec Soccer Champion, OYSL Undefeated Champion, Disney Soccer Showcase Silver Medalist, Ontario Soccer Provincial Team Player, and OYSL Top-10 Scorer all the while adding several cross country and track & field recognitions such as OFSAA Track & Field 200m and 400m qualifier and OFSAA Cross Country qualifier.
Welham on Borea:
"Vision, awareness, dynamic ability and technical proficiency are all aspects that come quickly to the mind when I watch Sofia play. She has the ability to dictate moments in the game and excel in both the middle and final third of the field."
PHOTO GALLERY
Cameron Droste, from Lone Tree, Colo., is a 5-8 goalkeeper who played at Highlands Ranch High School and for the Colorado Rush. She attended the ECNL PDP Camp in March of 2015 and the Nike id2 Camp in Casa Grande, Ariz. In December of 2013. She was also selected to attend US Soccer Training Centers from 2012-2014. The keeper also played in the ECNL National Finals in July of 2013. Droste also is an excellent student-athlete with a 4.0 GPA.
Welham on Droste:
"Cam is a physically imposing goalkeeper who is technically sound and especially talented with her feet. We look forward to seeing her compete with our goalkeeping core."
PHOTO GALLERY
Kellie McCauley, a 5-4 defender from Mission Viejo, Calif., played at California Preparatory Academy and Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Kellie played her club ball for Strikers FC (ECNL). She has excelled in the classroom as well, earning the Student Athlete Award her freshman year of high school and the Best Student in Oceanography Award her junior year of high school. She also participated in the ODP camp in 2010.
Welham on McCauley:
"Kellie is a very hard working and tenacious defender…she possesses very good recovery speed and is a versatile player."
PHOTO GALLERY
Casey Peterson, a 5-3 midfielder from Clifton, Va., played for Centreville High School and FC Virginia ECNL '98. In her senior season, she played varsity soccer at Centreville and was captain of FC Virginia. In her junior year, Peterson earned All-Conference honors and the Scholar Athlete award with a 4.0 or better grade point average. Her club team finished first in the Mid-Atlantic and attended the National Playoffs in San Diego. During her sophomore season, the midfielder focused on club soccer where she was named team captain and her team finished first in the Mid-Atlantic and went to Seattle for the National Playoffs. She was named All-Conference Honorable Mention and earned the Scholar Athlete Award her freshman season, finishing runner-up in the State Championships. FC Virginia finished first and went to Seattle for the National Playoffs that same year.
Welham on Peterson:
"Casey is a positive life force on and off the field. She has an abundance of energy, is extremely dynamic and technical on the ball and can play in a multitude of positions."
PHOTO GALLERY
Francesca Picicci, a 5-2 center forward/midfielder, is from North Massapequa, N.Y. and played at St. Anthony's High School. She was a Catholic High School A.A Player of the Year, All-Long Island Team First Team and All-State First Team her senior season. Her junior accolades were All-Long Island Second Team as the team were Catholic League Champions and State Champions. With her ECNL Club (Albertson Fury) she earned the Senior Attacking Player of the Year award as a junior. Her Albertson club went to the ECNL finals in Virginia her sophomore season as her high school team was Catholic League Champs and State Champs. She also competed in track and earned the St. Bonaventure Award – averaging a 94.5% all four years - and was named to the National Honor Society.
Welham on Picicci:
"We look forward to seeing Francesca compete and execute in the attacking third and feel her technical ability, work rate, speed and aggression will be key factors that will allow her to have success there."
PHOTO GALLERY
***
UNH played a rigorous 2016 schedule with three teams inside the nation's Top-75 in RPI (Harvard – 44, Northeastern – 57, and Wake Forest – 73) …NCAA Division I Women's Soccer has 334 programs. For the third consecutive year, the Wildcats earned a spot in postseason play and have made at least the semi-finals in two of the last three years (2014 Champions). No. 4 New Hampshire took down No. 5 University of Maine on Oct. 27 at Bremner Field, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats then traveled to the University at Albany in the semifinals. UNH came agonizingly close to pushing overtime with a last second goal waived off. The Wildcats finished 2016 season with the best goal differential since 2007 (+1). Junior Brooke Murphy (Monson, Mass.) earned America East Striker of the Year honors for the second-straight season with a league-leading 25 points and 11 goals. She is only the fourth America East member and second Wildcat to collect it in back-to-back seasons. Michelle Sheehan was the former Wildcat to win the honor for two straight years (2007, 2008). Kendra Prince earned America East First Team Honors and Mimi Borkan earned Second Team Honors. Caroline Wysocki and Liz Lane rounded out the Conference awards as both made the All-Rookie Team respectively.
"We look forward to the future and we feel confident that our new group of players can help us achieve the goals and aspirations that we have on the field and in the classroom."
UNH set the single highest semester team GPA in Women's Soccer history for a third straight year with a 3.56 GPA this fall. 26 of 28 players achieved at least a 3.0 or higher with five members scoring a perfect 4.0.
Players Mentioned
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