The ASU soccer team inked five new recruits for the 2003 season in hopes of moving through the ranks of the NCAA tournament this fall.
Included in the class are three of the state's top recruits, as well as two players from Pleasanton, Calif.
"All of them have a unique personality, they're fun and they get along with our team well," ASU coach Ray Leone said. "We want to build on our chemistry so (personality) is good."
Of the five recruits, three are forwards with one midfielder and one goalkeeper. Leone did not sign any defenders, but according to him he could not "turn down those attackers."
"Good players can play anywhere," Leone said. "We needed to improve our outside speed on the flank and we have done that."
One of the speedy players is Levise Robertson of Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson. The forward will add speed up front to help Sun Devils leading scorer from last year Elizabeth Bogus.
"Levise is the fastest player in state of Arizona and a very exciting player," Leone said. "Manya (Makoski) and Bogus have good pace and this will add to it."
Another player who will prove valuable up front is Michelle Becker. Hailing from Ironwood High School in Phoenix, Becker is a natural left footer, something ASU had just one of last year in Brittany Cooper. Becker's 84 career goals at Ironwood set a school record.
Lauren Niblett of Hamilton High School in Chandler will also bring speed to the team. Niblett, a four-time All-Region selection, brings a great work ethic to ASU, according to Leone.
Coming from California High School in Pleasanton, Calif., are midfielder Katie Mahoney and goalkeeper Kim Bingham. Mahoney is coming off an ACL injury, but prior to the injury she was part of the U17 Club National Championship team in 2002.
Bingham will add a third goalkeeper to the team, something Leone believes is important in case of injury.
"Any good program has to have three quality goalkeepers," he said. "We will push all of them and make them all better."
Overall, Leone is pleased with the acquisitions. It has given the third-year coach a lot of opportunities to move players around to get the most from his lineup.
"We thought we could make a lot of improvement if we went specifically after these types of players," Leon said. "I really like speed and if we have pace going we're going to put a lot of teams under pressure."
Despite the lack of defense, Leone is not worried because one of his best defenders started at ASU as a forward. Stephanie Peel was one of the top scorer's for the 2001 club, but in 2002 made the switch to defense and Leone said she's "as good an outside back as I've seen."
The only problem Leone will have before the start of next season is trimming down his team. He expects to carry more players than last year (22) but with the loss of just senior Lindsey Mack, space will be limited.
"It's going to be competitive and they'll have to work hard to earn a spot," Leone said.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
