Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — Fresh off its best season in program history, the Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer team hopes to enter 2019 with more depth and offensive firepower.
Eight high-school seniors, all from Texas, signed on to play for the Greyhounds in the fall. They’ll be part of a team that reached the Lone Star Conference championship for the first time in 16 seasons, and hopes to win it in the 17th.
“More depth is what we need,” ENMU coach Joshua Smith said. “We have some players who are coming in that will make an impact right away. We’ve got some others committed that will bolster the class as well. We feel this class will provide us with depth, and a high level of talent. We feel we’ve upgraded almost everywhere on the field.”
Smith didn’t get much time to recruit for his first season, having come aboard in late June following two seasons at University of the Southwest.
Regarding potential junior college additions, Smith said most of those programs are in the playoffs right now, but ENMU might add a few transfers later in the recruiting season.
Here are the players who have joined ENMU for the upcoming year, in no particular order, with comments from Smith:
• Abigail Guerrero (MF, Flower Mound H.S.): Smith calls Guerrero a good attacker and defender in the center-mid position, and noted her time playing for well-known Dallas coach Clint Willis.
“She’s a kid we expect to come in and make an impact. She was highly recruited.”
• Taylor Fogle (MF, Wakeland H.S., Frisco): Fogle played a big role in the Lady Wolverines claiming the 5A title in Texas, with the game-tying goal in the state final and one of five scores in the decisive penalty kick round.
“I’ve been watching Taylor for a while, recruiting her really hard for a year. She’s got so much potential. She’s a hard-working kid, she’s super strong. She steps into tackles very well. She distributes the ball. She and Abby (Guerrero) are really going to complement each other.”
• Lauren DesCamp (F, Hebron H.S., Carrolton): Smith largely noticed her time with FC Dallas.
“She’s a quick, dynamic forward. I think she flew under the radar in the recruiting process. I think she has a huge ceiling, still. Scoring goals was one of our issues, and she was a terrific goal scorer.”
• Meredith Olson (W, The Colony): Olson, a 5-4, 115-pound left-footed winger, helped The Colony reach the 5A Region 2 playoffs. The team fell to Fogle and Wakeland in the first round. Smith said she’s tough to defend in space and doesn’t give up on plays easily.
“I know her high school coach very well. Girls who come through his program are very tough, very disciplined mentally.”
• Zowie Rodriguez (GK, Veterans Memorial): As a junior — Texas teams start their soccer seasons in January — Rodriguez manned the goal with fellow junior Lauryn Clark, as the Eagles posted 13 shutouts and allowed 42 goals in 26 games.
“I’ve seen her in club ball and worked with her in camps. She’s got good size, good range. She’s still developing in some ways, but when we get through training she’ll really grow a lot in her first year.”
• Kinsie Mitchell (D, Red Oak H.S.): As a junior, Mitchell was her team’s No. 4 scorer with five goals and four assists in six recorded games.
“Kinsie was a kid who had been looking at Eastern even before I got here. She’s a good technical player, really smart. She’s played on very high-level clubs, played on a decent high school program as well.”
• Caroline Ruiz (D, Birdville H.S., Hurst): “She was the anchor of the backline for them. She’s a centerback, but I think she can play some other roles on the field. She provides us some depth through our backline. She’ll be able to compete to push our defenders, make us more well-rounded.”
• Sam Vasquez (D, Frenship H.S.): The nearby prospect also plays some outside back.
“She’s a really good one-v-one defender. She attacks well, recovers well. I think she’s another one who fell under the radar. She fell in love with our campus and our girls and our team. We want girls who buy into our culture.”
Smith is still putting the spring season together, and is hopeful to have four to five dates with mostly Division-I schools, plus some offseason training to keep everybody ready for the fall.