LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell women's soccer head coach
Mira Novak has announced 10 newcomers to the 2022 roster.
The group includes eight freshmen and two transfer student-athletes. The River Hawks welcome players from Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Sweden as well as players from New Jersey and New Hampshire. Four newcomers hail from the Bay State to round out the class.
"Overall, I am thrilled about the incoming class. They are driven young women who are coming here to become better players as well as better people in the process," said Novak. "We are all excited about the impact they can make on this program on their quest to chase the America East banner. We have several seniors returning -
Emily Nelson,
Dunja Mostarac,
Chaima Khammar and
Lily Fabian - and I believe that our newcomers will raise the level of the whole ground and contribute in their own way to our team's growth. We are all excited to step on the new field on August 18 and open the 2022 fall season that will present some fantastic opportunities for growth."
MEET THE PLAYERS
Name: Mia Robinson
Hometown/High School: Greenland, NH / Portsmouth
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 5-7
Club Team: Seacoast United
Major/Minor: Criminal Justice with a police concentration
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played at Portsmouth High School and for club team Seacoast United under coach Ross Yeoman…Played for the US Development Academy for two years…Part of the Girls Academy Soccer team her junior and senior year…Helped lead her club team to the national playoffs in her junior year season and had shutouts in all but two games…Earned high honors her junior and senior year.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Josh and Ruthie Robinson…Has two siblings, Haley and Payton…Favorite hobbies include boating, training dogs, true crime podcasts, exploring the outdoors and spending time with family…Names Tom Brady as her favorite athlete…The Patriots and Bruins are her favorite sports teams…Lists Dexter, Hawaii 5-0, Outer Banks, Forensic Files and Cold Case Files as her favorite shows…Names making it to the national championship and saving a penalty kick in the state championship as her favorite sports moments…Worked with the culinary program in high school, Gourmet To Go…Has a boating course license certification.
NOVAK: "Mia is a competitor who can organize her defense well. I am excited to watch her progress as she is hungry to learn and push herself to get better."
Name: Kirti Craig
Hometown/High School: Spotswood, N.J. / Spotswood HS
Position: Midfield/Defense
Height: 5-6
Club Team: PDA NJ
Major/Minor: Exercise Science
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played four years at Spotswood High School and for PDA New Jersey under coach Josh Osit…Served as team captain senior year…NJGSCA Top 20 Player in NJ Central Region selection…Four-time GMC All-Conference Team selection…Four-time All-Blue Division Team selection…GMC Conference Midfielder of the week Sept. 22nd…Two-time Greater Middlesex Conference SAAC Athlete of the season… Finished high school soccer career with 60 goals and 41 assists, with 25 goals in her senior year…National Honor Society member junior and senior year…Peer mentor for three years…Member of the Spotswood Community Cares Club…Earned honor roll all four years and ranked in top 9% of her graduating class.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Kevin Craig and Linda Campisano…Her mother played two years of soccer at Stockton University…Has four siblings, Deva, Krishna, Bhakti and Ghanashyama…Hobbies include hiking, kayaking and traveling…Names the United States Women's National Team as her favorite team…Favorite sports figure is Christie Pearce Rampone…Names Stranger Things as her favorite TV show…Her favorite sports memory is scoring the game-winning goal in the NPL semifinals with seven seconds remaining…Hopes to become a physical therapist to help young athletes recover from injury.
NOVAK: "Kirti is a tenacious midfielder who is an all-around player. She can score from distance while helping in defense as well."
Name: Maddie Guthrie
Hometown/High School: Stow, Mass. / Nashoba Regional HS
Position: Defense/Midfield
Height: 5-8
Club Team: FC Stars
Major/Minor: Applied Biomedical Sciences
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played four years of varsity soccer at Nashoba Regional HS…Served as team caption senior year…Two-time Mid-Wach B All-Star…Two-time CMass All-Star…Won the Massachusetts state championship freshman year…Two-time Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Player to Watch…Led the team in goals junior year…Member of the National Honor Society and Unified Track team…EMT cadet.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Laurie and Michael Guthrie…Has two siblings, Michael and Grace…Enjoys working as an EMT, lifeguarding, teaching swim lessons, reading and traveling…Names The Office and Gossip Girl as her favorite TV shows…Names the Patriots, Bruins and Celtics are her favorite sports teams…Favorite sports figures are Abby Wambach and Julian Edelmen…Her greatest sports memory is being named captain her senior year…Traveled to Malawi, Africa for a service trip as an EMT.
NOVAK: "Maddie is a technically sound player who has a solid potential to grow into her role on this team. If she continues the same path as the last couple years, she will be able to contribute at a number of positions."
Name: Julia Edholm
Hometown/High School: Stockholm, Sweden / Sjölins Gymnasium / University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Position: Defense
Height: 5-10
Club Team: Boo FF
Major/Minor: Economics
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played three years at University of Arkansas at Little Rock…Earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors her freshman year…Led the team with six goals, including two game-winning goals, and 13 points freshman year…Started 14 games and played 1,329 minutes sophomore year…Made 19 starts junior year and tallied two goals and two assists…Played for Boo FF senior year of high school, helping Boo FF Girls 16 to a third place finish at the Swedish Nationals…Selected to Stockholm's district team and helped win the District Championship in 2017.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Rose-Marie Löfvenius and Fredrik Edholm…Has one sibling, Jonna…Enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to coffee shops and traveling…Lists Djurgårdens IF and Chelsea as her favorite sports teams…Favorite TV shows are crime fiction and thrillers...Hopes to continue playing soccer after college.
NOVAK: "Julia is a decorated player who is transferring from Arkansas Little Rock. She has the winning mentality and will add experience to our team."
Name: Bára Beránková
Hometown/High School: Hradec Králové, Czech Republic / První Soukromé Jazykové Gymnázium Hradec Králové
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 5-8
Club Team: FK Pardubice
Major/Minor: Applied Biomedical Sciences / Italian Studies
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Multi-sport athlete in high school, playing soccer and tennis…Member of the National Team of Czech Republic Women's Under 17 team her freshman and sophomore years…Moved to National Team of Czech Republic Women's Under 19 team her junior and senior years…Placed fourth at a national Spanish Language competition…Earned Cambridge English Proficiency – CPE.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Lucie Beránková and Ivo Beránek…Has two siblings, Emma and Mikuláš…Enjoys tennis, traveling and reading…Her favorite sports team is FC Barcelona…Lists Barbora Votíková and Roger Federer as her favorite sports figures…Names the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship as her favorite sports moment…Speaks Czech, English and Spanish…Has played tennis for over a decade and competed on a national level.
NOVAK: "Bára is a solid goalkeeper who has experience playing at the U17 and U19 national team level including most recently competing at the Euro U19 Championship. She will form a strong goalkeeping unit along with
Mia Robinson and
Taylor Burgess."
Name: Megan Banzi
Hometown/High School: Plymouth, Mass. / Plymouth North HS
Position: Defense
Height: 5-6
Club Team: NEFC
Major/Minor: Nursing
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Four-year varsity starter at Plymouth North High School…Four-time Patriot League All-Star…Three-time Eastern Mass All-Star…Earned Eastern Mass All-Star Second Team freshman year…Three-time Patriot League All-Scholastic selection…Served as team captain senior year and earned Boston Herald All-Scholastic and Boston Globe All-Scholastic honors…Earned Massachusetts 2021 All-State honors…Also a four-year starter for basketball…Named captain her senior year and two-time Patriot League All-Star…Also played four years of softball, earning several Patriot League honors such as All-Star selections, Co-Champions, MVP and All-Scholastic…Honors student and member of the Best Buddies program.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Donna and Donald Banzi Jr…. Has two siblings, Donnie and Courtney…Her cousin, Pamela Cluff-McDevitt, played soccer at Fairfield University, sits second in career goals and was inducted into Fairfield's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011…Enjoys painting, being outside and spending time with family and friends…Lists Friends and Grey's Anatomy as her favorite TV shows…Names the US Women's National Team as her favorite sports team and Tobin Heath as her favorite sports figure…Her greatest sports moment was when she played on an all-boys baseball team when she was 12 and became just the second girl in regional history to hit a home run, becoming a role model for young girls in her hometown…Her special talent is reciting the alphabet backwards.
NOVAK: "Megan can strike the ball comfortably with both feet, which will serve her well at any position in our defense. She is an exciting player who will continue growing at UMass Lowell."
Name: Chloe Layne
Hometown/High School: Wrentham, Mass. / King Philip / Hartford
Position: Forward
Height: 5-6
Club Team: Scorpions Soccer Club ECNL
Major/Minor: Exercise Science
High School/Previous School: Started all 16 games for the Hartford Hawks, scoring six goals and four assists…Named to the America East All-Rookie Team and the America East All-Conference Second Team…Averaged 1.0 points per game and was third in the conference with 16 points…Made her collegiate debut on 8/19/21 against Delaware State and recorded an assist…Scored her first collegiate goal on 9/2/21 against Merrimack, recording two goals in the game…Her first conference goal came against New Hampshire on 9/19/21…Tied for 4
th in America East in goals with 6 and tied for 1
st in the conference in assists with 4…Named to America East Commissioner's Honor Roll…Was a United Soccer Coaches All-American and All-New England selection in high school.
Personal: Daughter of Suzanne and Darryl Layne…Has one brother, Evan, and two sisters, Olivia and Erica…Hobbies include traveling, hiking, skiing, and watching Netflix…List One Tree Hill and The Vampires Diaries…Names the Patriots as her favorite sports team.
NOVAK: "Chloe is a local player joining us as a transfer from Hartford. She earned All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team accolades as one of the top scorers in the conference in the fall. She fits into our system and the program with her mentality and work ethic, and I believe she will help us compete for championships. Above all, Chloe is a fantastic person who will make this team better on and off the field."
Name: Sophie St. George
Hometown/High School: Walpole, Mass. / Walpole
Position: Midfield
Height: 5-5
Club Team: NEFC GA
Major/Minor: Business
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played and started all four years at the varsity level…Earned Bay State honorable mention honors sophomore year…Named team captain junior and senior year…Also ran track and set the indoor track 4x800 relay school record…Bay State All-Star for indoor track senior year and was a nationals qualifier.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Jill and Michael St. George…Has two siblings, Sarah and Sadie…Enjoys cooking, hiking and spending time with her dog…Names the US Women's National Team as her favorite sports team…Lists Friends and Haunting of Hill House as her favorite TV shows…Favorite sports figures are Rose Lavelle and Emma Coburn…Names her greatest sports moment as scoring a header against the top ranked school in her freshman year.
NOVAK: "Sophia is a tireless worker with a great engine and good eye for the final ball. She will never take a shortcut and is comfortable pushing herself to meet the challenge."
Name: Nadja Anderson
Hometown/High School: Nakskov, Denmark / Koege Gymnasium
Position: Defense
Height: 5-7
Club Team: Hb Køge
Major/Minor: Exercise Science
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Won the Danish Championship in her junior and senior years…Competed in the Champions League group stage with club team.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Liane and Morten Andersen…Has three siblings, Cecilie, Matilde and Laura…Nicknamed Nadji…Enjoys coffee and names Suits as her favorite TV show…Her favorite sports team is FC Barcelona…Names Virgil Van Dijk as her favorite sports figure…Her greatest sports moment was winning eh Danish Championship…Chose UMass Lowell for a new challenge and hopes to return to the professional level after graduation.
NOVAK: "Nadja won the senior league with her team in Denmark and comes as a player who can contribute at several positions on the field. Her ceiling is still very high, and I hope she can reach her potential at UMass Lowell."
Name: Maija Hodson
Hometown/High School: Woodbridge, Ontario / Bill Crothers Secondary School
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5'4"
Club Team: Vaughan SC
Major: Criminal Justice
High School/Previous School: Served as team captain for the Vaughan Soccer Club for four years…won the League One Reserve Championship during her senior year with Vaughan SC…Made the Honor Roll all four years of high school…Earned Ontario Scholar Award senior year.
Personal: Daughter of Maud and Kevin Hodson…Has one brother, Noah, who plays soccer at Canisius College…Father played in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning…Enjoys shopping, traveling, hanging out with friends, painting pottery and swimming…Lists the Juventus as her favorite sports team and Christine Sinclair as her favorite athlete…Names her greatest sports moment as winning the championship of League One Reserve.
BNOVAK: "Maija has already joined our team as a freshman for the spring season. She is a technical player who can sit in the heart of midfield and find ways to move the ball into the dangerous areas. Maija experienced tremendous growth during the spring season, and I am excited what her first competitive season can bring."
