Temple University Athletics
Women’s Soccer Signs Nine for 2016 Class
2.24.16 | Women's Soccer
PHILADELPHIA – After a record-setting season and the vacancy left behind by nine graduating seniors, the Temple women's soccer team will welcome nine new faces to the field for the 2016 season.
"I think the most important thing is that this class is that they are all fantastic young ladies and that fits with us at Temple," said head coach Seamus O'Connor. "We have a really great team spirit and that's key to who we are. We came back to win so many close games last season, we genuinely care about each other, and we fight for Temple. I think we selected these ladies because they match who we are as a program on the field, off the field, and academically."
The nine student-athletes that O'Connor and assistant coach Keith Cappo helped to bring to Philadelphia fill a void left behind at positions that were occupied by the graduating seniors.
In the goal, senior Shauni Kerkhoff was "superwoman" to the team according to O'Connor. But on September 4, Kerkhoff was injured in the game against Penn and saw her lucrative career at Temple come to an end. Freshman Jordan Nash, a Brick, N.J.-native stepped up into the spotlight and proved to be the next generation of goalie for the Owls. In 19 games, Nash recorded 70 saves, 1.02 goals against average, and a .805 save percentage.
However, O'Connor did not want to rely on just one back up goalkeeper like the team did this year, so the Owls will welcome Morgan Basileo and Cassy Skelton to the roster to back up Nash.
"Both Morgan and Cassy are excellent goalkeepers, so we have three that we feel can start for us," said O'Connor. "Last year with Shauni getting hurt, it was a little scary for us because Jordan was the only one left and we didn't want that to happen again. At our level, you just have to prepare. Between Morgan, Cassy and Jordan, I think we're just going to get better at the goalkeeper position."
Basileo was a four-year varsity starter for Little Flower High School here in Philadelphia. Her career statistics rank her as the best goalkeepers in the history of their program. She received Philadelphia Catholic League All Conference recognition twice during her career. Morgan comes to Temple off a very successful club soccer career with FC Bucks, where she played with another future Owl, Jules Blank. Basileo helped the team to win an Eastern Pennsylvania State Championship in 2015 and to finish as a finalist at the Disney College Showcase in 2013. She was also part of the team that won an Eastern Pennsylvania Futsal State Champion in 2014. Academically, Basileo was an honors student and will be an engineering major at Temple.
Skelton was a four-year varsity soccer player at Holy Cross Academy. During her senior year she was selected as a team Captain and made the final watch list for High School All American Game. Skelton was honored with the South Jersey Coaches Association 2015 Most Valuable Goalkeeper of the Year. She was also selected All South Jersey First Team, Burlington County Scholastic League All Star, All-County Keeper for Burlington County and the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year in 2014. Skelton was also played Basketball and Lacrosse during her time at Holy Cross Academy. Academically, she is a member of the National Honors Society. She also received Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards in Algebra, Sociology, English, Graphic Design, and Psychology. Skelton will be majoring in criminal justice while at Temple.
The backfield is an area where the void will be felt most, as Erin Lafferty, Kaylee Harner, Taylor Trusky and Shannon Senour, all starters for the Owls graduate.
"Our back four graduated so we brought in Emily Keitel and Molly Tobin, who we see at the center back option for us. They match what we look for – tall, good on the ball, can deliver the ball over distance, and are very dangerous on set plays. Both athletes have scored a lot of goals off of headers," said O'Connor.
Keitel was a four-year starter for Cumberland Valley High School, whose four-year record was 91-7-3, (scoring 407 goals and giving up 54). The heart of the defense, she was a four-time Mid Penn Conference champion, two-time District 3 champion, and PIAA AAA finalist (2012) and semi-finalist (2015). She scored seven goals in her senior year (all from set pieces). She was named to the All-Sentinel team, the Patriot-News/Pennlive All-star team, nominated for Patriot-News MVP, and was a Mid Penn Conference All-Star. In addition, Keitel was a two-year starter for the Eastern PA ODP team, where she played center midfield or center back, and she competed with the HMMS Eagle FC 97 Blaze club team. Keitel also played AAU basketball and was a varsity member of the 2013 PIAA AAAA state finalist basketball team. Academically, Keitel is an honor roll student and has been active with CV Africa as well as CV's miniTHON, which benefits the Four Diamonds Fund. Keitel will be an elementary education major at Temple.
Tobin was a four-year varsity starter for Duxbury High School. She led her team to win back-to-back Patriot League Championships and was selected to play on the Patriot League All Star team 2013-2015. Tobin was also selected to play on the Massachusetts State Super Team. At the club level, Tobin plays for the U18 Boston Breakers ECNL team. During her club career, Tobin has been nationally ranked by Top Drawer Soccer as the 91st-ranked overall player in the US, the 12th-ranked defender in the US and the third-ranked overall player in Massachusetts and is in the 2016 US Girls IMG Academy Top 150 Player Pool. She was also selected to participate at the US Women's Soccer ID Camp in Albany, NY and selected to play multiple years in the Olympic Development Program for the state of Massachusetts. Academically, Tpbin is an Honor Roll student, Best Buddies volunteer, and participates in American Sign Language activities representing Duxbury High School. Tobin will be a marketing major at Temple.
Another defender that the Owls recruited is Lacey Powell, who O'Connor said will play at outside back, "fits" the style that the Owls play and mimics the athleticism and ability to move on the field like Harner did.
"Lacey is a super athletic, can get up and down the field all day long, is a great one-on-one defender, but we love the fact that she can get into the attack," said O'Connor.
Powell was a four-year varsity player at Freehold Township HS. Some of the honors she received included All-State honorable mention, 1st team all-conference, 2nd team all division and 1st team all-district. During her senior year, Powell, was selected as a team captain and led the team to a fantastic season which included finishing the season ranked as the #4 team in New Jersey, Central Jersey Group IV champions, NJ Group IV state champions and Shore Conference finalists. During her freshman and sophomore years she helped the team win the Division championship. She plays her club soccer with Match Fit Academy ECNL U18 team and was selected as their team captain for the past three seasons. Academically, Powell was on the Honor Roll all four years of High School. She is a member of the National Honor's Society as well as a Peer Leader. Powell will be a studying physical therapy at Temple as part of the 3+3 program.
Another position that will need to be replaced is midfield, where Paula Jurewicz and Kelly Farrell left open slots. O'Connor believes that Morgan Morocco will help fill this spot with her height and aggressive nature, similar to another Temple player, women's basketball's Alliya Butts.
"Morgan actually played high school basketball with Alliya Butts at Holy Cross Academy and they are both very similar. When I watched Alliya play UConn, she's just fearless the way she goes at defenders," said O'Connor. "I see a lot of similarities in Morgan – she just goes at people and has no fear in attacking and taking players on."
Morocco was a four-year varsity soccer player at Holy Cross Academy. She was selected as a captain her senior year and finished the year as the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year. Morgan was also selected to the New Jersey All-State Non-Public 2nd Team and the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association All South Jersey 1st Team. During her career, Morgan helped her High School team finish as New Jersey State Non-Public Semi-Finalists in 2013 and 2015 and New Jersey State Non-Public Finalists in 2014. Morgan was also a four-year starter for her High School basketball team, including being the captain in 2014 and 2015. She was selected to the All-League team for basketball in 2014 and 2015. At the club level, Morgan, played for PDA. Morgan has volunteered with the Special Olympics program at both the state level and the national level. Morgan will be a biology major at Temple.
Another option for midfield for the Owls is Toni Feite, who is a multi-sport athlete that has the ability to help the team on offense and on defense.
"Toni is just super athletic and can go from box-to-box, get up into the attack but has the energy to get back down," said O'Connor. "She also has great size and is tall, so she can help us compete at midfield for those high balls and has great delivery for set plays."
Feite comes to Temple from Northern HS. During her career in high school she was a team captain and led her team to a District III Championship in 2013 as well as being runners up in 2013 and 2015. Feite also lettered in Cross Country as well as Track and Field during her time at Northern. Feite was team captain for her club team, SuperNova, where she helped the team win the Pennsylvania East State Championships in 2010 and again in 2012. The team was also Semi-Finalists at the Super-Y League National Championships in 2013 and again in 2014. Academically, Feite was on the Honor roll all four years of High School. She was a member of the DECA team that finished first in the districts in 2014 and as runners-up in 2015. Feite will be majoring in exercise science at Temple.
Katherine Waghorne, nicknamed "KJ", will also add depth to the midfield position for the Owls. Top Drawer Soccer ranked Waghorne as a three-star recruit and the 21st-ranked player in the Midwest Region. Waghorne played her club soccer for the NSA Rockets and helped the team win the Illinois State Championship in 2014. She also competed with them in the USYSA National League, Midwest Regional League Premier I, and Region II Championships. Waghorne played a key role for the Internationals Soccer Club team that finished 6th in the 2015 ECNL Champions League. Prior to that, she was part of the Eclipse ECNL team for two seasons. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society. Waghorne is an AP Scholar and is also an Illinois State Scholar. She was awarded the Temple University President's Scholarship for her outstanding academic performances in high school, and was selected as one of the 30 students to study in the pre-med honors program at Temple.
"KJ is a really nice player, I like her a lot. She just has a lot of energy. She'll help us out at midfield or be an outside defender," said O'Connor. "Again, she's one of those players that never stops. You start the game and she's up and down the flank all day long. She's a great defender but can also help us in the attack."
In terms of goal scoring, the Owls look to replace Farrell, who tied a program-record for most goals scored in a single season with 13. However, the coaching staff looked to local talents for someone who could help fill the void.
"Kelly is a huge hole to fill so we brought in Julianne "Jules" Blank, a local Philadelphia kid," said O'Connor. "She had her jersey retired at her high school, only the second time a female had a jersey retired there. She broke all types of records for goals scored; but that's her game, she's a goal scorer. If we get the ball to her in the box, she's going to score. We're very excited to see what she can do at this level."
Blank is one of the best goal scorers to come out of the city of Philadelphia. She finished her high school career at Archbishop Ryan as the all-time leading goal scorer with 83 goals, and is just the second female to have her jersey retired at Ryan. Blank lead her Archbishop Ryan team to four Catholic League Championships and a District 12 Championship. Among the honors she received this year included Regional All-American, Pennsylvania All State Team, Philadelphia Catholic League MVP and 1st Team All-Catholic Philadelphia. Blank was also selected to the All-State team in 2013 and was a 1st Team All-Catholic Philadelphia in 2013 and 2014. Outside of High School, she led her FC Bucks team to an Eastern Pennsylvania State Championship in 2015 and was also part of the Eastern Pennsylvania ODP team that won the Region 1 championship in 2014. Academically, Blank was in the top 5% of her class at Archbishop Ryan and will be studying health science at Temple.
"I think the most important thing is that this class is that they are all fantastic young ladies and that fits with us at Temple," said head coach Seamus O'Connor. "We have a really great team spirit and that's key to who we are. We came back to win so many close games last season, we genuinely care about each other, and we fight for Temple. I think we selected these ladies because they match who we are as a program on the field, off the field, and academically."
The nine student-athletes that O'Connor and assistant coach Keith Cappo helped to bring to Philadelphia fill a void left behind at positions that were occupied by the graduating seniors.
In the goal, senior Shauni Kerkhoff was "superwoman" to the team according to O'Connor. But on September 4, Kerkhoff was injured in the game against Penn and saw her lucrative career at Temple come to an end. Freshman Jordan Nash, a Brick, N.J.-native stepped up into the spotlight and proved to be the next generation of goalie for the Owls. In 19 games, Nash recorded 70 saves, 1.02 goals against average, and a .805 save percentage.
However, O'Connor did not want to rely on just one back up goalkeeper like the team did this year, so the Owls will welcome Morgan Basileo and Cassy Skelton to the roster to back up Nash.
"Both Morgan and Cassy are excellent goalkeepers, so we have three that we feel can start for us," said O'Connor. "Last year with Shauni getting hurt, it was a little scary for us because Jordan was the only one left and we didn't want that to happen again. At our level, you just have to prepare. Between Morgan, Cassy and Jordan, I think we're just going to get better at the goalkeeper position."
Basileo was a four-year varsity starter for Little Flower High School here in Philadelphia. Her career statistics rank her as the best goalkeepers in the history of their program. She received Philadelphia Catholic League All Conference recognition twice during her career. Morgan comes to Temple off a very successful club soccer career with FC Bucks, where she played with another future Owl, Jules Blank. Basileo helped the team to win an Eastern Pennsylvania State Championship in 2015 and to finish as a finalist at the Disney College Showcase in 2013. She was also part of the team that won an Eastern Pennsylvania Futsal State Champion in 2014. Academically, Basileo was an honors student and will be an engineering major at Temple.
Skelton was a four-year varsity soccer player at Holy Cross Academy. During her senior year she was selected as a team Captain and made the final watch list for High School All American Game. Skelton was honored with the South Jersey Coaches Association 2015 Most Valuable Goalkeeper of the Year. She was also selected All South Jersey First Team, Burlington County Scholastic League All Star, All-County Keeper for Burlington County and the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year in 2014. Skelton was also played Basketball and Lacrosse during her time at Holy Cross Academy. Academically, she is a member of the National Honors Society. She also received Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards in Algebra, Sociology, English, Graphic Design, and Psychology. Skelton will be majoring in criminal justice while at Temple.
The backfield is an area where the void will be felt most, as Erin Lafferty, Kaylee Harner, Taylor Trusky and Shannon Senour, all starters for the Owls graduate.
"Our back four graduated so we brought in Emily Keitel and Molly Tobin, who we see at the center back option for us. They match what we look for – tall, good on the ball, can deliver the ball over distance, and are very dangerous on set plays. Both athletes have scored a lot of goals off of headers," said O'Connor.
Keitel was a four-year starter for Cumberland Valley High School, whose four-year record was 91-7-3, (scoring 407 goals and giving up 54). The heart of the defense, she was a four-time Mid Penn Conference champion, two-time District 3 champion, and PIAA AAA finalist (2012) and semi-finalist (2015). She scored seven goals in her senior year (all from set pieces). She was named to the All-Sentinel team, the Patriot-News/Pennlive All-star team, nominated for Patriot-News MVP, and was a Mid Penn Conference All-Star. In addition, Keitel was a two-year starter for the Eastern PA ODP team, where she played center midfield or center back, and she competed with the HMMS Eagle FC 97 Blaze club team. Keitel also played AAU basketball and was a varsity member of the 2013 PIAA AAAA state finalist basketball team. Academically, Keitel is an honor roll student and has been active with CV Africa as well as CV's miniTHON, which benefits the Four Diamonds Fund. Keitel will be an elementary education major at Temple.
Tobin was a four-year varsity starter for Duxbury High School. She led her team to win back-to-back Patriot League Championships and was selected to play on the Patriot League All Star team 2013-2015. Tobin was also selected to play on the Massachusetts State Super Team. At the club level, Tobin plays for the U18 Boston Breakers ECNL team. During her club career, Tobin has been nationally ranked by Top Drawer Soccer as the 91st-ranked overall player in the US, the 12th-ranked defender in the US and the third-ranked overall player in Massachusetts and is in the 2016 US Girls IMG Academy Top 150 Player Pool. She was also selected to participate at the US Women's Soccer ID Camp in Albany, NY and selected to play multiple years in the Olympic Development Program for the state of Massachusetts. Academically, Tpbin is an Honor Roll student, Best Buddies volunteer, and participates in American Sign Language activities representing Duxbury High School. Tobin will be a marketing major at Temple.
Another defender that the Owls recruited is Lacey Powell, who O'Connor said will play at outside back, "fits" the style that the Owls play and mimics the athleticism and ability to move on the field like Harner did.
"Lacey is a super athletic, can get up and down the field all day long, is a great one-on-one defender, but we love the fact that she can get into the attack," said O'Connor.
Powell was a four-year varsity player at Freehold Township HS. Some of the honors she received included All-State honorable mention, 1st team all-conference, 2nd team all division and 1st team all-district. During her senior year, Powell, was selected as a team captain and led the team to a fantastic season which included finishing the season ranked as the #4 team in New Jersey, Central Jersey Group IV champions, NJ Group IV state champions and Shore Conference finalists. During her freshman and sophomore years she helped the team win the Division championship. She plays her club soccer with Match Fit Academy ECNL U18 team and was selected as their team captain for the past three seasons. Academically, Powell was on the Honor Roll all four years of High School. She is a member of the National Honor's Society as well as a Peer Leader. Powell will be a studying physical therapy at Temple as part of the 3+3 program.
Another position that will need to be replaced is midfield, where Paula Jurewicz and Kelly Farrell left open slots. O'Connor believes that Morgan Morocco will help fill this spot with her height and aggressive nature, similar to another Temple player, women's basketball's Alliya Butts.
"Morgan actually played high school basketball with Alliya Butts at Holy Cross Academy and they are both very similar. When I watched Alliya play UConn, she's just fearless the way she goes at defenders," said O'Connor. "I see a lot of similarities in Morgan – she just goes at people and has no fear in attacking and taking players on."
Morocco was a four-year varsity soccer player at Holy Cross Academy. She was selected as a captain her senior year and finished the year as the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year. Morgan was also selected to the New Jersey All-State Non-Public 2nd Team and the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association All South Jersey 1st Team. During her career, Morgan helped her High School team finish as New Jersey State Non-Public Semi-Finalists in 2013 and 2015 and New Jersey State Non-Public Finalists in 2014. Morgan was also a four-year starter for her High School basketball team, including being the captain in 2014 and 2015. She was selected to the All-League team for basketball in 2014 and 2015. At the club level, Morgan, played for PDA. Morgan has volunteered with the Special Olympics program at both the state level and the national level. Morgan will be a biology major at Temple.
Another option for midfield for the Owls is Toni Feite, who is a multi-sport athlete that has the ability to help the team on offense and on defense.
"Toni is just super athletic and can go from box-to-box, get up into the attack but has the energy to get back down," said O'Connor. "She also has great size and is tall, so she can help us compete at midfield for those high balls and has great delivery for set plays."
Feite comes to Temple from Northern HS. During her career in high school she was a team captain and led her team to a District III Championship in 2013 as well as being runners up in 2013 and 2015. Feite also lettered in Cross Country as well as Track and Field during her time at Northern. Feite was team captain for her club team, SuperNova, where she helped the team win the Pennsylvania East State Championships in 2010 and again in 2012. The team was also Semi-Finalists at the Super-Y League National Championships in 2013 and again in 2014. Academically, Feite was on the Honor roll all four years of High School. She was a member of the DECA team that finished first in the districts in 2014 and as runners-up in 2015. Feite will be majoring in exercise science at Temple.
Katherine Waghorne, nicknamed "KJ", will also add depth to the midfield position for the Owls. Top Drawer Soccer ranked Waghorne as a three-star recruit and the 21st-ranked player in the Midwest Region. Waghorne played her club soccer for the NSA Rockets and helped the team win the Illinois State Championship in 2014. She also competed with them in the USYSA National League, Midwest Regional League Premier I, and Region II Championships. Waghorne played a key role for the Internationals Soccer Club team that finished 6th in the 2015 ECNL Champions League. Prior to that, she was part of the Eclipse ECNL team for two seasons. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society. Waghorne is an AP Scholar and is also an Illinois State Scholar. She was awarded the Temple University President's Scholarship for her outstanding academic performances in high school, and was selected as one of the 30 students to study in the pre-med honors program at Temple.
"KJ is a really nice player, I like her a lot. She just has a lot of energy. She'll help us out at midfield or be an outside defender," said O'Connor. "Again, she's one of those players that never stops. You start the game and she's up and down the flank all day long. She's a great defender but can also help us in the attack."
In terms of goal scoring, the Owls look to replace Farrell, who tied a program-record for most goals scored in a single season with 13. However, the coaching staff looked to local talents for someone who could help fill the void.
"Kelly is a huge hole to fill so we brought in Julianne "Jules" Blank, a local Philadelphia kid," said O'Connor. "She had her jersey retired at her high school, only the second time a female had a jersey retired there. She broke all types of records for goals scored; but that's her game, she's a goal scorer. If we get the ball to her in the box, she's going to score. We're very excited to see what she can do at this level."
Blank is one of the best goal scorers to come out of the city of Philadelphia. She finished her high school career at Archbishop Ryan as the all-time leading goal scorer with 83 goals, and is just the second female to have her jersey retired at Ryan. Blank lead her Archbishop Ryan team to four Catholic League Championships and a District 12 Championship. Among the honors she received this year included Regional All-American, Pennsylvania All State Team, Philadelphia Catholic League MVP and 1st Team All-Catholic Philadelphia. Blank was also selected to the All-State team in 2013 and was a 1st Team All-Catholic Philadelphia in 2013 and 2014. Outside of High School, she led her FC Bucks team to an Eastern Pennsylvania State Championship in 2015 and was also part of the Eastern Pennsylvania ODP team that won the Region 1 championship in 2014. Academically, Blank was in the top 5% of her class at Archbishop Ryan and will be studying health science at Temple.
Players Mentioned
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