April 10, 2009

Soccer Adds Six Recruits to 2009 Squad

     Youngstown -- Youngstown State Head Soccer Coach Will Lemke announced that forwards Olivia Dressler (Garrettsville, Ohio) and Shelby Parks (Pittsburgh, Pa.), midfielders Lydia Allen (La Crescent, Minn.), Katie Peterlin (Parma, Ohio) and Cori Stark (Belle Vernon, Pa.) and defender Brittany Dowd (Lisbon, Ohio) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and soccer careers at Youngstown State.

    Dressler stands at 5'7 and finished her four-year career at James A. Garfield High school with 137 goals, including an impressive 45 goals in her senior year.  She is third in the state for most career goals and is the current record holder for the Portage Trail Conference. In Dressler's senior year her team finished with a 13-3-2 record and won the sectional title in the play-offs.      

    Parks, a 5'5 forward, was Deer Lakes High School's high scorer all four years and had the most assist for three years. She also holds the record for the most career goals. During her high school career, Parks was a four-time Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athlete League All-Section selection and was a three-year WPIAL All-Star. In her senior year, she was chosen as the Army Athlete-of-the-Week and the Valley News Dispatch Athlete-of-the-Week. She also holds the honor of team MVP and Best Offensive Player. Parks played in integral role in her team finishing as IFC-PPA State Cup Champions and runner-up in IFC West State Cup.

    Allen  is a 5'6 four-year letter winner at La Crescent High School and was an two-time all-conference selection. She also lettered in softball.

    "Lydia is another strong, athletic all-around player who can play on defense or anywhere in the midfield. She understands our system and will come in and compete for a starting job," commented Lemke.

     Peterlin's of Strongsville High School was the Midwest Metro Team of the Year. This 5'5 midfielder also was a member of the team during the 2007 and 2008 season as it finished state-runner up both years.

    "Katie is a very athletic, competitive and smart player who also can play almost every place on the field. She has exceptional vision and passing ability which allow her to make those around her better. Coming from one of the highest rated high school programs in the nation she is very accustomed to playing against the some of the very best players in the nation," said Lemke.
    Stark , standing at 5'5, is Belle Vernon Area High School's all-time leading scorer in the history of the women's soccer program with 124 goals. In her sophomore year scored a goal in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs that helped lift her team past Hempfield giving the team its first playoff victory in school history. Stark also excelled at track competing in the 800-meter run and the 800 and 1,600 relays.