Temple University Athletics
Women’s Soccer Inks Five to 2019 Signing Class
4.17.19 | Women's Soccer
PHILADELPHIA—Head coach Seamus O'Connor has announced the signing of five members to the Temple women's soccer class of 2023. The Owls will welcome Madison Bee, Mary Byerley, Milana D'Ambra, Gianna Dragoni and Mikaela Maughn to campus in the fall of 2019.
"This freshman group is a great complement to the current roster we have and addresses some areas in which we need additional help," said O'Connor. "The current team is playing some great soccer this spring, but this freshman class has players who can come in and make an immediate impact. These players ticked all the boxes we require when looking to add student-athletes; they are good people who want to do well academically and work hard every day to become the best soccer players they can be. We look forward to having a lot of happy memories with this group over the next four years of their college experience at Temple University"
Madison Bee | Forward | Haddonfield, N.J. | Haddonfield Memorial HS | SJEB Rush
About Bee
Bee was a varsity starter and leading goal scorer in her four years at Haddonfield Memorial High School. She was the team's stat leader each of these seasons. Bee played club for SJEB Rush, where she won three state championships as a member of the squad. During her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Bee earned First Team All-Conference, First Team All-South Jersey and First Team All-State accolades. She plans on studying kinesiology at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Madie will bring another dimension to our attack that we haven't had in the past," said O'Connor. "She is very good at playing with her back to goal and is strong in the air, winning the majority of the headers she competes for. She can score goals from inside the box, outside the box, on the ground and in the air. Madie comes to us from the SJEB Rush program and she also has experience with the US Soccer Region 1 Olympic Development program competing against the best players nationally and internationally, which will give her the confidence to compete against the high level of players in our conference. Madie's strength, combined with how well she moves off the ball, will make her difficult to stop from creating goal scoring opportunities. She also has the potential to grow into a team leader, as she is very vocal on the field and has a positive attitude."
Mary Byerley | Midfield | West Chester, Pa. | Bishop Shanahan HS | LMSC Storm
About Byerley
Byerley played club for the LMSC Storm, which won the Pennsylvania State Championship and was ranked in the top 20 nationally throughout her four-year career. At Bishop Shanahan High School, she was a four-year varsity starter and amassed numerous academic honors. Byerley was an AP Scholar as a sophomore, junior and senior, is a member of the Archdiocese Scholar Program, NHS and Spanish NHS and is in the top 10 percent of her class. She plans to major in criminal justice at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Mary has an advantage coming into our program from the fact that her sister, Elaine, was a four-year starter and captain during her career here at Temple University," said O'Connor. "She knows what to expect in terms of the quality and physically of the conference and this will allow her to make the adjustment to college soccer quicker than other freshman. Mary will be a great addition to our midfield group as she is very good defensively, but more importantly, she has the ability to play possession when we have the ball and find those passes that will lead to goal scoring opportunities. She has a tremendous soccer IQ and can see passes that other players struggle to see."
Milana D'Ambra | Defense | Sewell, N.J. | Washington Twp. HS | SJEB Rush
About D'Ambra
D'Ambra played club soccer for SJEB Rush and won the State Cup in 2018 and 2019. In her junior campaign, her team also won the Coaches Cup. She has been involved with the business honor society at Washington Township High School as a junior and senior and plans to study health sciences at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"The outside backs play a key role for our team both in terms of attacking and defending," said O'Connor. "Milana plays the outside back position exactly how I like it to be played. She is very comfortable with the ball at her feet and is not afraid to join the attack, but she also does her defensive work as well. Milana is a competitor and will bring a win-at-all-costs attitude to our team. Milana comes from a soccer family: her sister, Kylie, is a junior at St. Joseph's University and her dad, Don, is the head men's soccer coach at St Joseph's. This has helped Milana, as she has been around college soccer for a long time and knows what needs to be done to be successful. Milana also comes from the SJEB Rush program where she played with Madie Bee and we hope that partnership, which won multiple state titles at the club level, will continue to find success at the college level."
Gianna Dragoni | Forward | Garnet Vallet, Pa. | Garnet Valley HS | Penn Fusion
About Dragoni
Dragoni was the leading scorer for Garnet Valley High School in her two years on the squad as a freshman and sophomore. She earned Honorable Mention honors as a freshman and First Team All-Delco and First Team All-Central as a sophomore. Dragoni played club for Penn Fusion and plans to study business management at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Gia comes to us from the Penn Fusion Development Academy program where she competes on a year-round basis against the top youth soccer players in the country," said O'Connor. "Gia will be a nice addition to our attacking group as she brings a blue collar attitude to her play that fits perfect with what our program stands for. Gia can create her own goal scoring chances through a combination of hard work and excellent foot skills. She is another attacker that defenders will hate to go against, as she is strong and not afraid to tackle hard. One of the key skills that Gia will bring to the program that we have not enough off is her ability to dribble past opponents. She has the perfect combination of speed, strength and foot skills with the ball that allow her to dribble past defenders with ease."
Mikaela Maughn | Defense | Mansfield, Mass. | Mansfield HS | Global Premier Soccer
About Maughn
Maughn won the Hockomock League Championship as sophomore, junior and senior and helped reset Mansfield High School's defensive records. She was named Team Unsung Hero and Sun Chronicle All Star as a junior. During her senior campaign, she racked up several accolades: Team MVP, Sun Chronicle All Star, Hockomock League All Star and Eastern Massachusetts All Star. Maughn also earned four varsity letters in both indoor and outdoor track and field, has been an honor roll student through her high school career and plans to study biology at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Mikaela joins us from the GPS program in Massachusetts and she is another exciting addition to our defensive group," said O'Connor. "What I like about Mikaela is her ability to play more than one position. She is most comfortable as an outside back and fits into the mold for our outside backs because she is not afraid to get forward and join the attack. She is also very comfortable playing in a three back system, which is an option we like to use during the season based on the needs of a specific game. I also believe because of how good she is with the ball and how good she is defensively that she can also play as a central midfielder for us. We have seen the importance of defenders who can win their individual battles with opponents in our conference and we feel like Mikaela has the potential to become one of the best one on one defenders on our team."
"This freshman group is a great complement to the current roster we have and addresses some areas in which we need additional help," said O'Connor. "The current team is playing some great soccer this spring, but this freshman class has players who can come in and make an immediate impact. These players ticked all the boxes we require when looking to add student-athletes; they are good people who want to do well academically and work hard every day to become the best soccer players they can be. We look forward to having a lot of happy memories with this group over the next four years of their college experience at Temple University"
Madison Bee | Forward | Haddonfield, N.J. | Haddonfield Memorial HS | SJEB Rush
About Bee
Bee was a varsity starter and leading goal scorer in her four years at Haddonfield Memorial High School. She was the team's stat leader each of these seasons. Bee played club for SJEB Rush, where she won three state championships as a member of the squad. During her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Bee earned First Team All-Conference, First Team All-South Jersey and First Team All-State accolades. She plans on studying kinesiology at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Madie will bring another dimension to our attack that we haven't had in the past," said O'Connor. "She is very good at playing with her back to goal and is strong in the air, winning the majority of the headers she competes for. She can score goals from inside the box, outside the box, on the ground and in the air. Madie comes to us from the SJEB Rush program and she also has experience with the US Soccer Region 1 Olympic Development program competing against the best players nationally and internationally, which will give her the confidence to compete against the high level of players in our conference. Madie's strength, combined with how well she moves off the ball, will make her difficult to stop from creating goal scoring opportunities. She also has the potential to grow into a team leader, as she is very vocal on the field and has a positive attitude."
Mary Byerley | Midfield | West Chester, Pa. | Bishop Shanahan HS | LMSC Storm
About Byerley
Byerley played club for the LMSC Storm, which won the Pennsylvania State Championship and was ranked in the top 20 nationally throughout her four-year career. At Bishop Shanahan High School, she was a four-year varsity starter and amassed numerous academic honors. Byerley was an AP Scholar as a sophomore, junior and senior, is a member of the Archdiocese Scholar Program, NHS and Spanish NHS and is in the top 10 percent of her class. She plans to major in criminal justice at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Mary has an advantage coming into our program from the fact that her sister, Elaine, was a four-year starter and captain during her career here at Temple University," said O'Connor. "She knows what to expect in terms of the quality and physically of the conference and this will allow her to make the adjustment to college soccer quicker than other freshman. Mary will be a great addition to our midfield group as she is very good defensively, but more importantly, she has the ability to play possession when we have the ball and find those passes that will lead to goal scoring opportunities. She has a tremendous soccer IQ and can see passes that other players struggle to see."
Milana D'Ambra | Defense | Sewell, N.J. | Washington Twp. HS | SJEB Rush
About D'Ambra
D'Ambra played club soccer for SJEB Rush and won the State Cup in 2018 and 2019. In her junior campaign, her team also won the Coaches Cup. She has been involved with the business honor society at Washington Township High School as a junior and senior and plans to study health sciences at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"The outside backs play a key role for our team both in terms of attacking and defending," said O'Connor. "Milana plays the outside back position exactly how I like it to be played. She is very comfortable with the ball at her feet and is not afraid to join the attack, but she also does her defensive work as well. Milana is a competitor and will bring a win-at-all-costs attitude to our team. Milana comes from a soccer family: her sister, Kylie, is a junior at St. Joseph's University and her dad, Don, is the head men's soccer coach at St Joseph's. This has helped Milana, as she has been around college soccer for a long time and knows what needs to be done to be successful. Milana also comes from the SJEB Rush program where she played with Madie Bee and we hope that partnership, which won multiple state titles at the club level, will continue to find success at the college level."
Gianna Dragoni | Forward | Garnet Vallet, Pa. | Garnet Valley HS | Penn Fusion
About Dragoni
Dragoni was the leading scorer for Garnet Valley High School in her two years on the squad as a freshman and sophomore. She earned Honorable Mention honors as a freshman and First Team All-Delco and First Team All-Central as a sophomore. Dragoni played club for Penn Fusion and plans to study business management at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Gia comes to us from the Penn Fusion Development Academy program where she competes on a year-round basis against the top youth soccer players in the country," said O'Connor. "Gia will be a nice addition to our attacking group as she brings a blue collar attitude to her play that fits perfect with what our program stands for. Gia can create her own goal scoring chances through a combination of hard work and excellent foot skills. She is another attacker that defenders will hate to go against, as she is strong and not afraid to tackle hard. One of the key skills that Gia will bring to the program that we have not enough off is her ability to dribble past opponents. She has the perfect combination of speed, strength and foot skills with the ball that allow her to dribble past defenders with ease."
Mikaela Maughn | Defense | Mansfield, Mass. | Mansfield HS | Global Premier Soccer
About Maughn
Maughn won the Hockomock League Championship as sophomore, junior and senior and helped reset Mansfield High School's defensive records. She was named Team Unsung Hero and Sun Chronicle All Star as a junior. During her senior campaign, she racked up several accolades: Team MVP, Sun Chronicle All Star, Hockomock League All Star and Eastern Massachusetts All Star. Maughn also earned four varsity letters in both indoor and outdoor track and field, has been an honor roll student through her high school career and plans to study biology at Temple.
From Coach O'Connor
"Mikaela joins us from the GPS program in Massachusetts and she is another exciting addition to our defensive group," said O'Connor. "What I like about Mikaela is her ability to play more than one position. She is most comfortable as an outside back and fits into the mold for our outside backs because she is not afraid to get forward and join the attack. She is also very comfortable playing in a three back system, which is an option we like to use during the season based on the needs of a specific game. I also believe because of how good she is with the ball and how good she is defensively that she can also play as a central midfielder for us. We have seen the importance of defenders who can win their individual battles with opponents in our conference and we feel like Mikaela has the potential to become one of the best one on one defenders on our team."
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