Aztex forward Alfred Koroma Shams eager for Texas return

Austin's Alfred Koroma Shams

Austin Aztex forward Alfred Koroma Shams has never really had a permanent home.

Shams fled his home country of Sierra Leone as a child along with his mother. He spent several semesters with the U.S. U-17 Residency Program in Florida, and he has bounced around from various clubs and teams, whether domestically or most recently in Brazil.

Austin represents a bit of a homecoming location for Shams, whose legal guardians are from Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s refreshing coming to Austin and sticking close to my family,” Shams said. “Since I was 11, I’ve been away playing soccer, playing at Residency as well, and you have to learn how to grow up real quick. It’s been hard, but a couple months ago I had the opportunity to come to Austin and it was time for a change.”

For more, visit USLSoccer.com.

Eclipse Select's Zoe Redei called in for U.S. U-20 WNT trip to Spain

Eclipse Select forward Zoe Redei

Eclipse Select Soccer Club forward Zoe Redei (Highland Park, Ill.) has been named to the U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team for a three-game tournament in La Manga, Spain.

Redei is one of 22 players called in by USA head coach Michelle French for a 10-team competition that includes games against Norway (March 5), the Netherlands (March 7) and Sweden (March 9).

This is Redei’s second call-up with the U-20s after featuring for this age group during an October camp to start the new cycle.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Thirteen Eclipse Select players earn invite to ECNL PDP event

A large contingent of Eclipse Select Soccer Club players traveled to the University of Wisconsin Madison over the Feb. 7-8 weekend to earn the right to take part in the 2015 Elite Clubs National League Players Development Program. A total of 13 players represented Eclipse Select as the club touted the largest group among the ECNL’s Midwest Conference teams.

Team 1 included Eclipse Select Elite ECNL 2018 (U-15) goalkeeper Haley Leanna (Grayslake, Ill.); Elite Pool 2017 (U-16) defender Camryn Biegalski (Lombard, Ill.) and Elite ECNL 2016 (U-17) defender Emily Hess (Batavia, Ill.); and Elite ECNL 2018 midfielders Jessica Denney (Naperville, Ill.) and Brynn Miller (St. Charles, Ill.).

Team 2 consisted of Eclipse Select Elite ECNL 2016 defender Courtney Coleman (Antioch, Ill.) and Elite ECNL 2018 defender Caitlin Haislip (Munster, Ind.); Elite ECNL 2016 midfielder Ena Sabanagic (Hanover Park, Ill.); and Elite ECNL 2017 forward Emma Cooper (Coralville, Iowa).

On Team 3, Elite ECNL 2017 defender Lydia Brosnahan (Highland Park, Ill.) and Elite Pool 2017 midfielder Samantha Salay (Glenview, Ill.) represented Eclipse Select.

Team 4 included Elite ECNL 2016 midfielders Nicki Hernandez (Naperville, Ill.) and Cassandra Rohan (Palatine, Ill.).

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Eclipse Select midfielder Amanda Rapaduski called into U.S. U-16 camp

Eclipse Select Soccer Club midfielder Amanda Rapaduski (Algonquin, Ill.) has been called into a U.S. U-16 Girls’ National Team camp.

Rapaduski will be part of a 24-player group at a Feb. 15-22 camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif. This is the USA’s first U-16 programming since 2007. Women’s development coach Tricia Taliaferro is heading the camp.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

UPDATE:
Amanda Rapaduski and Eclipse Select President Rory Dames caught up with the Northwest Herald before Rapaduski went into camp:

• Around Town: Jacobs High School's Rapaduski in U.S. Soccer U16 Girls National Team camp

National Signing Day: Eclipse Select Class of 2015

Eclipse Select Soccer Club is proud to announce its Class of 2015, currently featuring featuring 27 players headed to their respective NCAA women’s soccer teams starting this fall.

“We are very proud of the Class of 2015, which is our largest class since 2009,” Mike Nesci said. “The players will represent the club at some of the top institutions in the country. It is a credit to their commitment and dedication to soccer and academics.”

Below are breakdowns of the Eclipse Select Class of 2015 on National Signing Day:

• Chelsea Burns (Jacksonville, Fla.), midfielder - Duke 
• Hannah Davison (Geneva, Ill.), defender - Northwestern
• Caroline Dempsey (Lincolnshire, Ill.), midfielder - Washington (St. Louis)
• Morgan Egan (Naperville, Ill.), defender - Pittsburgh
• Sydney Griffin (Hinsdale, Ill.), forward - New Hampshire
• Kate Hennessy (Plainfield, Ill.), forward - Belmont Abbey College
• Sophia Jendrzejczyk (St. Charles, Ill.), forward - Wingate
• Megan Kalkofen (Naperville, Ill.), defender - Wisconsin 
• Reilly Martin (Carmel, Ind.), midfielder - Michigan
• Maeve McLaughlin (Hinsdale, Ill.), defender - Indiana
• Hannah Mussallem (Palos Heights, Ill.), midfielder - Purdue
• Drew Moulton (Sycamore, Ill.), goalkeeper - Valparaiso
• Maya Neal (Naperville, Ill.), forward - Tennessee
• Ann Marie Niro (Barrington, Ill.), midfielder - Notre Dame
• Aspyn Repp (Lake Bluff, Ill.), midfielder - Northwestern
• Jessica Ritchie (Glencoe, Ill.), midfielder - Cornell
• McKenzie Runyan (Lake Villa, Ill.), midfielder - Rochester
• Megan Runyan (Lake Villa, Ill.), midfielder - Rochester
• Kelli Santo Paulo (West Chicago, Ill.), midfielder - St. Cloud State
• Kayla Sharples (Naperville, Ill.), defender - Northwestern
• Riley Sykes (Gurnee, Ill.), midfielder - Wisconsin
• Juliet Torres (Oak Lawn, Ill.), midfielder - Grinnell College
• Samantha Villwock (Lake Villa, Ill.), midfielder - South Dakota
• Emily Whitcomb (Elmhurst, Ill.), midfielder - Belmont
• Katie Wilson (Frankfort, Ill.), goalkeeper - Toledo
• Sydney Witham (Crown Point, Ind.), defender - Army
• Elizabeth Woerner (Bloomington, Ill.), forward - Memphis

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Eclipse Select's Martin, alumna Brockmeier headed to YNT camps

Caroline Brockmeier and Alia Martin

Eclipse Select Soccer Club midfielder Alia Martin (Carmel, Ind.) has been called up to the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team for a Dec. 7-14 camp taking place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

This group consists of 24 players who were born in 1998 and will potentially make up the group that will take part in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The camp will be led by U.S. Soccer Women’s Technical Director April Heinrichs.

Former Eclipse Select goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier (Tallahassee, Fla.) is one of 16 players taking part in a four-day Women’s Youth National Team Goalkeeper Camp from Dec. 14-17 in Chula Vista. Brockmeier was part of the Eclipse Select U-17 team’s 2013-14 ECNL national runner-up group. She then moved on to the collegiate ranks at Florida State, which has reached its fourth consecutive NCAA College Cup and eighth appearance overall in the semifinal stage of the tournament.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Eclipse Select's Gorzak and Redei named to NSCAA All-America Team

Zoe Redei and Alissa Gorzak

Eclipse Select Soccer Club forwards Alissa Gorzak (Naperville, Ill.) and Zoe Redei (Highland Park, Ill.) have been named to the 2014 NSCAA Youth Girls All-America Team. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced 40 youth boys and 40 youth girls to the respective All-America Teams last Thursday.

An NSCAA All-America Luncheon will be held during the 2015 NSCAA Convention on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Philadelphia.

Gorzak and Redei currently feature for the Eclipse Elite ECNL 2016 (U-17) team, having won national titles in the Elite Clubs National League for the past two seasons with the U-15s in the summer of 2013 and the U-16s in the summer of 2014. The duo was called into a mid-October camp with the U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team as both players hope to play a role in the qualification process toward the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Eclipse Select Alumni: Bendell helps South Carolina reach Elite Eight

Paige Bendell

South Carolina sophomore Paige Bendell (Orland Park, Ill.) was called in for her first start when center back Taylor Leach was suspended because of a pair of yellow cards in the team’s previous match. Bendell rose to the occasion against one of the top teams in the country, helping the South Carolina back line blank No. 6 North Carolina, 1-0, on Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C., to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

This marks South Carolina’s first appearance in the tournament’s quarterfinals. The Gamecocks improved to 14-5-5 and will now face Florida State on Friday in Tallahassee.

Elsewhere, Penn State freshman Katy Keen (Zionsville, Ind.) only logged 12 minutes over her past two games, but her time was important in helping the Nittany Lions reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Keen came off the bench and assisted Penn State’s opening goal by Raquel Rodriguez in the 40th minute to take a 1-0 lead against Virginia Tech on Sunday in the third round of the tournament. Penn State went on to a 2-1 victory as Keen posted the second assist of her first collegiate season.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.