Troy University Athletics
O’Connor, Troy Women’s Soccer, Announce Complete Signing Day Class
12/5/2019 4:41:00 PM | Soccer
TROY, Ala. -- Troy University soccer coach Ged O'Connor announced the addition of 10 new student-athletes for the 2020 season, Thursday afternoon as Sydney Babineaux, Erin Bloomfield, Catherine Boatwright, Gabrielle Chartier, Brooke Essegian, Paige Hunt, Lindsey LaRoche, Mia Tessier, Caroline Todes and Alicia Victoria all signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI) and will be heading to Troy in 2020.
"Whenever we go out recruiting, we look to bring in high-character people," head coach Ged O'Connor said. "We just lost a very good senior class and they represented our program with the upmost integrity. It's going to be very difficult and important to replace the class we've lost this year. When we attacked this year class, we look to replace those individuals with more high-character people. Obviously, we look at what they could do on the field, but the person they were away from the pitch was way more important. We're going to be a lot younger next year, with just one senior on the roster. With that being said, many of the members of this class will have an opportunity to play right away which should benefit us going forward."
The class features players from four different states (Colorado, Florida, Texas and Nebraska) and from three different countries (America, Canada and England). The group is comprised of a pair of goalkeepers (Boatwright, LaRoche), three defenders (Babineaux, Essegian, and Hunt), three midfielders (Chartier, Tessier and Todes) and a pair of forwards (Bloomfield, Victoria).
LaRoche and Chartier will enroll early this January and join the Trojans for the spring training period, while the remainder of the class will arrive on campus during the summer of 2020. The class is O'Connor's third complete class since being named the head coach at Troy back in January of 2017.
"We brought in a number of excellent players in this class, who will all bring in great characteristics," the head coach said. "I think we balanced the class well, and each position group is well-represented. We have two goalkeepers, and then we have the other eight players who all bring versatility in where on the field they can play. There are members of this class that we feel are flat out goal scorers and will make an immediate impact for us up top. Adding these players to our returning group of [Caroline] Tully, Melissa [Kuya-Strobel] and Taytum [Terrell], we think we should have another strong offensive season in 2020 and beyond."
Sydney Babineaux
Defense/Forward | 5'9
Houston, Texas | Deer Park HS | Houston Dash Academy
• Attended Mount Carmel Academy (2016-17) before transferring to Deer Park in 2018.
• Named a 2016-17 first team All-American for Mount Carmel Academy, scoring 20 goals.
• Trained in Barcelona, Spain in La Liga back in 2014-15, earning 2015 La Liga Athlete of the Year.
• Two-year member of the Houston Dash Development Academy (2018-20), leading the team in goals (8) during the 2017-18 season.
GED TALKS: "Sydney is a very athletic and strong soccer player. She can play in multiple positions for us. Originally, we recruited her as an attacking player, but more recently she's been playing in the back where she's played really well. She's going to help bolster our defense or help create opportunities in the attack. So, we'll have to see next fall where she fits best."
Erin Bloomfield
Forward | 5'10
Yeovil, Somerset, England | Bridgewater College | Southampton Women's Club
• Attended Bridgewater College in England
• Played for the prestigious Southhampton Women's Club and Yeovil Town in the Women's English Super League
• Played in nine games for Yeovil Town, earning five starts.
GED TALKS: "Erin is an excellent goal scorer who knows how to find the back of the net. She should combine with Taytum and Melissa to provide three elite goal scorers. She scores a lot of goals and we're excited to see what she can do for us."
Catherine Boatwright
Goalkeeper| 5'10
Papillion, Neb. | Papillion Lavista | EGA ECNL 01/02
• Attended Papillion Lavista high school where she played for head coach April Kelcher.
• Played both goalkeeper and forward for the Monarchs but projects as a goalkeeper in college.
• Advanced to the Nebraska state playoffs in 2017 and 2019, and still has one year left of competitive high school soccer in the spring of 2020.
• Recorded 40 clean-sheets the last four-years for EGA ECNL 01/02.
• Member of the first ECNL team to win a Midwest Conference championship.
GED TALKS: "We lost two senior goal keepers which presented a challenge for us, but I think we found two excellent goalkeepers to replace Haleigh [Mercer] and Miranda [Schoening]. Both Catherine and Lindsey should challenge for minutes right away next year, with Gabby [Cossette]. So, training should be interesting next year as we look to break-in a new starting goalkeeper.
Gabrielle Chartier
Midfielder| 5'5
Blainville, Quebec, Canada | École Saint-Gabriel | CS Monteuil
• Attended École Saint-Gabriel in Sainte-Therese, QC (2014-19), and École Rive-Nord (2016-17).
• Played for Canada Rex in the Quebec Regional Excellence Program (2017-pres.) and Team Program of the Quebec Provincial Team Program (2014-Pres.).
• Three-time Quebec Cup champion.
• Member of the 2017 Canada Rex team that advanced to the Canadian National Championship game.
• Member of the 2018 Quebec team that played in the prestigious Quebec vs. Ontario all-star game.
GED TALKS: "Gabrielle is an excellent center-midfielder, both tactically and technically. We're very happy to have been able to sign her over a number of other good schools who were interested and think she going to have an excellent Troy career."
Brooke Essegian
Defender| 5'8
Castle Rock, Colo. | Lutheran High School | Colorado Rapids
• Attends Lutheran high school, where she plays for Jim Pereira.
• A three-time All-Conference selection, with one season still left in the spring of 2020.
• Selected to the CHSAA All-State first team in 2019.
• Named the Lions team MVP the last two seasons (2018, 19).
• Her grandfather Chuck Essegian played in Major League Baseball and won the 1959 World Series as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
GED TALKS: "Brooke is an extremely physical player. She's big, strong and physical. She can fly down the field and isn't afraid of contact. She's going to be a very good defender for us."
Paige Hunt
Defender| 5'6
St. Augustine, Fla. | Bartram Trail
• Attended Bartram Trail high school, where she played for Jen Rodriguez and Joe Sotto.
• Made the playoffs all four years of her high school career, advancing to the 7A Florida State Final Four her last two seasons.
• Key contributor to a defensive unit that allowed the fewest goals and recorded the most shutouts in Bartram Trail history.
• Named an All-District and All-Conference selection.
GED TALKS: "Paige is an extremely unique player because she's a bit smaller than a typical center-back. She's technically very good and she played for a club and in an area that we've had a lot of success with in year's past, so we know the caliber of coaching that they receive. We're looking forward to having Paige come in and compete for minutes right away."
Lindsey LaRoche
Goalkeeper| 5'6
Longwood, Fla. | Lyman High School | Orlando City
• Attended Lyman high school.
• A member of the Orland City club team that advanced to the Region Cup Final Four in 2014.
• Played for the Orlando Pride U-16/17 of the US Soccer Development Academy (2017-18) and the U-18/19 team.
GED TALKS: "Lindsey is a fantastic goalkeeper. She's going to graduate high school early and join us this January which we're very excited about. I'm really looking forward to getting her on campus in a couple of weeks and inserting her into our practices and letting her compete with Gabby [Cossette] this spring. She comes from a really strong background both in high school and club soccer and we're happy to have her in the program."
Mia Tessier
Midfielder| 5'5
Joliette, Quebec, Canada| College Ahuntsic
• Attended École Secondaire Barthélémy-Joliette and Collège Ahuntsic (grade 12).
• Named a Canadian All-Star and a Quebec All-Star.
• Led her team to a victory over the first-ranked Quebec Ligue team (1-0), tallying an assist on her team's lone goal.
• Led the Quebec Ligue in goals, scoring nine times in eight games.
GED TALKS: "Mia is another French-Canadian who has fantastic speed and skill. She was easily the best player at the combine where we saw her play and we're very lucky to be welcoming her to Troy next season."
Caroline Todes
Midfielder| 5'10
Frisco, Texas | Reedy High School | Solar ECNL
• Attended Reedy high school, where she played in the midfield for Cory Oglesby
• Played for Solar Soccer Club of the ECNL.
• Two-time ECNL Texas Conference Champion.
• Led her team to the ECNL National Tournament.
• Member of the 2017 Dallas State Cup championship team.
• Dual-sport athlete that also played softball, where she led the Lions to the 5A Texas State Quarterfinals.
GED TALKS: "Caroline will be another important player for us to add because we need to replace a bunch of really good midfielders from last year's team. Caroline is going to come in and immediately compete for starting time. She's big, strong and physical. Overall, she's very good in the air. Once she arrives and learns our system, I think she'll be a quality player for us."
Alicia Victoria
Forward/Defense| 5'5
Broward County, Fla. | J.P. Taravella High School | Sunrise Prime
• Attended J.P. Taravella high school, where she was a member of the Tarvella girls soccer program that was ranked in the top-150 high school programs (110).
• Member of the Sunrise Prime club team
• Scored 15 goals her first three seasons of high school, including six goals in 15 games in 2017-18.
GED TALKS: "Alicia is an interesting player because she's actually played on a national team and has international playing experience. She's a player we identified a long time ago. Having had the opportunity to play in World Cup Qualifying matches for her country has really developed her into a player who can compete at the Division One level. She's another player who should be able to see time next year as a freshman."
"Whenever we go out recruiting, we look to bring in high-character people," head coach Ged O'Connor said. "We just lost a very good senior class and they represented our program with the upmost integrity. It's going to be very difficult and important to replace the class we've lost this year. When we attacked this year class, we look to replace those individuals with more high-character people. Obviously, we look at what they could do on the field, but the person they were away from the pitch was way more important. We're going to be a lot younger next year, with just one senior on the roster. With that being said, many of the members of this class will have an opportunity to play right away which should benefit us going forward."
The class features players from four different states (Colorado, Florida, Texas and Nebraska) and from three different countries (America, Canada and England). The group is comprised of a pair of goalkeepers (Boatwright, LaRoche), three defenders (Babineaux, Essegian, and Hunt), three midfielders (Chartier, Tessier and Todes) and a pair of forwards (Bloomfield, Victoria).
LaRoche and Chartier will enroll early this January and join the Trojans for the spring training period, while the remainder of the class will arrive on campus during the summer of 2020. The class is O'Connor's third complete class since being named the head coach at Troy back in January of 2017.
"We brought in a number of excellent players in this class, who will all bring in great characteristics," the head coach said. "I think we balanced the class well, and each position group is well-represented. We have two goalkeepers, and then we have the other eight players who all bring versatility in where on the field they can play. There are members of this class that we feel are flat out goal scorers and will make an immediate impact for us up top. Adding these players to our returning group of [Caroline] Tully, Melissa [Kuya-Strobel] and Taytum [Terrell], we think we should have another strong offensive season in 2020 and beyond."
Defense/Forward | 5'9
Houston, Texas | Deer Park HS | Houston Dash Academy
• Attended Mount Carmel Academy (2016-17) before transferring to Deer Park in 2018.
• Named a 2016-17 first team All-American for Mount Carmel Academy, scoring 20 goals.
• Trained in Barcelona, Spain in La Liga back in 2014-15, earning 2015 La Liga Athlete of the Year.
• Two-year member of the Houston Dash Development Academy (2018-20), leading the team in goals (8) during the 2017-18 season.
GED TALKS: "Sydney is a very athletic and strong soccer player. She can play in multiple positions for us. Originally, we recruited her as an attacking player, but more recently she's been playing in the back where she's played really well. She's going to help bolster our defense or help create opportunities in the attack. So, we'll have to see next fall where she fits best."
Forward | 5'10
Yeovil, Somerset, England | Bridgewater College | Southampton Women's Club
• Attended Bridgewater College in England
• Played for the prestigious Southhampton Women's Club and Yeovil Town in the Women's English Super League
• Played in nine games for Yeovil Town, earning five starts.
GED TALKS: "Erin is an excellent goal scorer who knows how to find the back of the net. She should combine with Taytum and Melissa to provide three elite goal scorers. She scores a lot of goals and we're excited to see what she can do for us."
Goalkeeper| 5'10
Papillion, Neb. | Papillion Lavista | EGA ECNL 01/02
• Attended Papillion Lavista high school where she played for head coach April Kelcher.
• Played both goalkeeper and forward for the Monarchs but projects as a goalkeeper in college.
• Advanced to the Nebraska state playoffs in 2017 and 2019, and still has one year left of competitive high school soccer in the spring of 2020.
• Recorded 40 clean-sheets the last four-years for EGA ECNL 01/02.
• Member of the first ECNL team to win a Midwest Conference championship.
GED TALKS: "We lost two senior goal keepers which presented a challenge for us, but I think we found two excellent goalkeepers to replace Haleigh [Mercer] and Miranda [Schoening]. Both Catherine and Lindsey should challenge for minutes right away next year, with Gabby [Cossette]. So, training should be interesting next year as we look to break-in a new starting goalkeeper.
Midfielder| 5'5
Blainville, Quebec, Canada | École Saint-Gabriel | CS Monteuil
• Attended École Saint-Gabriel in Sainte-Therese, QC (2014-19), and École Rive-Nord (2016-17).
• Played for Canada Rex in the Quebec Regional Excellence Program (2017-pres.) and Team Program of the Quebec Provincial Team Program (2014-Pres.).
• Three-time Quebec Cup champion.
• Member of the 2017 Canada Rex team that advanced to the Canadian National Championship game.
• Member of the 2018 Quebec team that played in the prestigious Quebec vs. Ontario all-star game.
GED TALKS: "Gabrielle is an excellent center-midfielder, both tactically and technically. We're very happy to have been able to sign her over a number of other good schools who were interested and think she going to have an excellent Troy career."
Defender| 5'8
Castle Rock, Colo. | Lutheran High School | Colorado Rapids
• Attends Lutheran high school, where she plays for Jim Pereira.
• A three-time All-Conference selection, with one season still left in the spring of 2020.
• Selected to the CHSAA All-State first team in 2019.
• Named the Lions team MVP the last two seasons (2018, 19).
• Her grandfather Chuck Essegian played in Major League Baseball and won the 1959 World Series as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
GED TALKS: "Brooke is an extremely physical player. She's big, strong and physical. She can fly down the field and isn't afraid of contact. She's going to be a very good defender for us."
Defender| 5'6
St. Augustine, Fla. | Bartram Trail
• Attended Bartram Trail high school, where she played for Jen Rodriguez and Joe Sotto.
• Made the playoffs all four years of her high school career, advancing to the 7A Florida State Final Four her last two seasons.
• Key contributor to a defensive unit that allowed the fewest goals and recorded the most shutouts in Bartram Trail history.
• Named an All-District and All-Conference selection.
GED TALKS: "Paige is an extremely unique player because she's a bit smaller than a typical center-back. She's technically very good and she played for a club and in an area that we've had a lot of success with in year's past, so we know the caliber of coaching that they receive. We're looking forward to having Paige come in and compete for minutes right away."
Lindsey LaRoche
Goalkeeper| 5'6
Longwood, Fla. | Lyman High School | Orlando City
• Attended Lyman high school.
• A member of the Orland City club team that advanced to the Region Cup Final Four in 2014.
• Played for the Orlando Pride U-16/17 of the US Soccer Development Academy (2017-18) and the U-18/19 team.
GED TALKS: "Lindsey is a fantastic goalkeeper. She's going to graduate high school early and join us this January which we're very excited about. I'm really looking forward to getting her on campus in a couple of weeks and inserting her into our practices and letting her compete with Gabby [Cossette] this spring. She comes from a really strong background both in high school and club soccer and we're happy to have her in the program."
Midfielder| 5'5
Joliette, Quebec, Canada| College Ahuntsic
• Attended École Secondaire Barthélémy-Joliette and Collège Ahuntsic (grade 12).
• Named a Canadian All-Star and a Quebec All-Star.
• Led her team to a victory over the first-ranked Quebec Ligue team (1-0), tallying an assist on her team's lone goal.
• Led the Quebec Ligue in goals, scoring nine times in eight games.
GED TALKS: "Mia is another French-Canadian who has fantastic speed and skill. She was easily the best player at the combine where we saw her play and we're very lucky to be welcoming her to Troy next season."
Midfielder| 5'10
Frisco, Texas | Reedy High School | Solar ECNL
• Attended Reedy high school, where she played in the midfield for Cory Oglesby
• Played for Solar Soccer Club of the ECNL.
• Two-time ECNL Texas Conference Champion.
• Led her team to the ECNL National Tournament.
• Member of the 2017 Dallas State Cup championship team.
• Dual-sport athlete that also played softball, where she led the Lions to the 5A Texas State Quarterfinals.
GED TALKS: "Caroline will be another important player for us to add because we need to replace a bunch of really good midfielders from last year's team. Caroline is going to come in and immediately compete for starting time. She's big, strong and physical. Overall, she's very good in the air. Once she arrives and learns our system, I think she'll be a quality player for us."
Alicia Victoria
Forward/Defense| 5'5
Broward County, Fla. | J.P. Taravella High School | Sunrise Prime
• Attended J.P. Taravella high school, where she was a member of the Tarvella girls soccer program that was ranked in the top-150 high school programs (110).
• Member of the Sunrise Prime club team
• Scored 15 goals her first three seasons of high school, including six goals in 15 games in 2017-18.
GED TALKS: "Alicia is an interesting player because she's actually played on a national team and has international playing experience. She's a player we identified a long time ago. Having had the opportunity to play in World Cup Qualifying matches for her country has really developed her into a player who can compete at the Division One level. She's another player who should be able to see time next year as a freshman."
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