Long Beach State women’s soccer coach Mauricio Ingrassia welcomes nine new members to the program as Melanie Fox (Valencia), Carly Lake (Covina), Elizabeth Lyons (Los Angeles), Eileen Maes (Oakland), Makayla Mendoza (Palm Desert), Jessika Oseguera (Bellflower), Hannah Sanders (Valley Center), Natalie Zeeni (Arcadia) and Marie McKenzie (Simi Valley) joins the 49ers for the upcoming 2012 season.
“I’m excited to welcome this talented class to our program,” Ingrassia said. “We are bringing in talented, hard working individuals along with some personality players. This class will fill some needs and add depth to our program. There is also good leadership, strong character, and winning personalities within the class. We are looking forward to working with all of them and integrating them into our way of doing things.”
Let’s talk about the newbies:
Melanie Fox, Defender, Fr., Valencia (West Ranch HS)
Attended West Ranch High School in Stevenson Ranch … Played nine years for club CZ Elite in Pasadena … U-15 National Cup Champions … Picked for ODP players pool five times … Captain of club team for the past two year. Finished in first place in the Copa Catalunya Cup in Spain.
Carly Lake, Midfielder/Defender, Fr., Covina, Calif. (Charter Oak HS)
Three sport athlete at Charter Oak High School in Covina … Four-year letter winner in soccer … Second team All-Miramonte League in 2009 and 2010 … First team All-Sierra League in 2011 and 2012 … Received CIF State Winter Spirit of Sport Award and “Student-Athlete” of the Year award for 2011-12 … Received NSCAA Senior Excellence Award in 2012 … Three-year member of the cross country team … First team All-Miramonte League in 2008 and 2009 … San Gabriel Valley Tribune First Team in 2008 and 2009 … San Gabriel Valley Tribune Area High School Girls All-Freshman, All-Sophomore and All-Junior Teams … Named Miramonte League Most Valuable Runner in 2010 … CIF Finalists in 2008 … San Gabriel Tribune Athlete of the Week for cross country in October 2009 … School record holder for Mt. SAC course, Bonelli Park Course, Sunny Hills Course and Brea Course … Three-year member of the swimming team … Second team All-Miramonte League in 2009 … Miramonte League Most Valuable Swimmer, San Gabriel Valley Tribune Second Team All-Valley and CIF Finalists in 2010 … Received scholar-athlete award in all three sports … Outstanding student award for art, gold key award, IB certificate candidate with CAS hours, California Scholarship Federation seal bearers, Golden State Seal Merit diploma candidate … graduated with highest honors (3.8 & above) … Played for club Claremont Storm for six years and CZ Elite since 2010.
Elizabeth Lyons, Forward, Fr., Los Angeles (Santa Monica HS)
Played three years on the soccer and track teams at Santa Monica High School … Named rookie of the year for soccer in 2009 … First-team All-Ocean League in 2009, 2010 and 2011 … Helped the Vikings to league title in 2009 and 2011 … Finished in first place in 300-meter hurdles three times (2008-10) … Ran the 300m hurdles in 43 seconds in 2009 … Named team MVP all three years in track … CIF finalists in 2008, 2009 and 2010 … Played for Beach FC for two years.
Eileen Maes, Midfielder, Jr., Oakland (Washington State/Castro Valley HS)
2011 (Washington State): Played in all 23 games at Washington State as a sophomore … Helped the Cougars advance to the NCAA Second Round … Collected four goals and one assist for a total of nine points … Hat trick against Hawaii in 2011 as she scored three goals against the Wahine, earning her Pac-12 Player of the Week … 2010 (Washington State): Appeared in 19 matches, including 17 starts as a freshman for the Cougars … Second on team with five goals, three assists and 13 points … First-career point, Aug. 27 with assist vs. Long Beach State … First-career goal, Sept. 17 at Hawaii … Hat trick against Gonzaga, Oct. 1 which earned her Pac-10 Player of the Week … Notched four points (one goal, two assists) over last four matches … Team Rookie of the Year Award … High School: Four-year letter winner and two-year captain at Castro Valley High School … Four-time league Hayward Area Athletic League champion … Three-time North Coast Section semifinalist … NCS champion as a senior when she scored the game-winning goal in the championship match … Four-time All-HAAL First Team … Midfielder of the year as a junior and senior … All-East Bay First Team as a senior.
Marie McKenzie, Defender, So., Simi Valley (Royal HS)
Three-year letter winner in soccer at Royal High School … Named Marmonte League Offensive MVP and Second Team All-CIF in 2011 … First-team all-league in 2009 and 2010 … All-County girls in 2010 and 2011 … Selected to NSCAA Youth All-Region Team in 2010 … Helped the Highlanders to back-to-back league championships (2009-10) … Played for club Real So Cal for 10 years … 2004 New Mexico Champions/Cal South National Cup (U11) … 2005 State Cup Champions (U12) … 2002 National Cup Champions/Surf Cup/Surf Girls Cup/Surf College Showcase (U10) … 2010 ODP All-Regional Team IV … Ranked 37th in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer and Takkle.com top 50 high school girls in 2011.
Makayla Mendoza, Defender, Fr., Palm Desert (Palm Desert HS)
High School: Four-year letter winner in soccer at Palm Desert High School … Named offensive MVP in 2009, 2010 and 2011 … Selected defensive MVP in 2012 … First-team All-Desert Valley League in 2010, 2011 and 2012 … First-team All-CIF in 2011 and second team All-CIF in 2012 … Helped the Aztecs to league championship in 2012 and two CIF quarterfinal appearances in 2011 and 2012 … Plays for club Arsenal.
Jessika Oseguera, Midfielder/Forward, Jr., Bellflower (Middle Tennessee State/Mayfair HS)
2011 (Middle Tennessee State): Started eight matches, including five straight in a stretch from against Alabama A&M (9/11) through the end of the month against Arkansas State (9/30) … Netted goals against Alabama A&M and in the Sun Belt opener at Denver (9/23) … Contributed a team-high four assists, including four in non-conference play … Recorded her first assist on the game-winning goal in overtime against Jacksonville State (8/21) … Posted assists in back-to-back contests against Alabama A&M and Tennessee Tech (9/16) … Tallied lone assist in league action at Louisiana (10/14) … Fired a career-high four shots against Jacksonville State and at Tennessee (9/2) … Concluded the season by placing 10 of her 22 shots on goal … 2010 (Middle Tennessee State): Started 13 matches while playing in all 24 … Earned a starting nod in the final nine contests, including all three of the Sun Belt Tournament and the NCAA Tournament matchup with No. 15 Florida State (11/12) … Tallied her first collegiate score at FIU (10/10) on her only shot attempt … Credited with two assists in the home victory over ULM (10/17) … Assisted on the go-ahead goal on a corner kick at Western Kentucky (11/4) in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals … Posted two shots in five matches, including three consecutive early in the campaign against Tennessee Tech (8/29), at Alabama A&M (9/3) and against Evansville (9/5) … Also had a pair of attempts at Alabama (9/12) and against ULM … High School: Invited to train with the U20 Mexican National Team … Named to the 2009 and 2010 Second Team All-California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section by the SoCal Soccer Coaches Association … Earned Long Beach Press Telegram Dream Team accolades her final two years … Selected as the 2009 and 2010 Suburban League Offensive MVP and to its First Team … Tabbed as her high school’s Most Offensive Player, leading it to the league title following her final two campaigns … Chosen as the Best Newcomer in 2007 … Nominated for the City of Lakewood (Calif.) Hall of Fame … Garnered Scholar-Athlete honors … Club team played in the U16 Premier League in 2008 and 2009 … Squad was the 2007 and 2008 Silver Elite Champion … Club team participated in the 2008 Nomads Coaches Showcase.
Hannah Sanders, Midfielder, Fr., Valley Center (Valley Center HS)
High School: Four sport athlete at Valley Center High School … Played four years in soccer and track and two years in cross country and tennis … Helped the Jaguars advance to the CIF soccer quarterfinals in 2009, 2011 and 2012 … First-team All-Valley League and MVP in 2010, 2011 and 2012 … team captain in 2011 and 2012 … Helped the Jaguars capture Valley League and CIF Division II Championship in 2011 and 2012 in track … Played for Carlsbad Elite for one year and FC San Diego for six years.
Natalie Zeeni, Defender, So., Arcadia (New Mexico/Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy)
High School: 2011 ESPN Rise All America and NCSAA All Region 4 … Four-time All-CIF … Captained team to CIF Division-I sectional championship in 2011 and CIF Division-III regional championship in 2010 … Two-time ESPN Rise California All-State selection … Three-time first-team All-Mission League … Los Angeles Times/GNP High School Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011 … Three-time Los Angeles Daily News first-team All-Area Team … Four-time Pasadena Star News all-area First-Team … Two-time Mission League Defensive Player of the Year … Captained her FSHA Team to a No. 1 National High School Ranking by ESPN Rise in 2011.