Jan. 12, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team will grow by three this semester, as prep standouts Haleigh Hoff, Kylie Morgan and Elaina Musleh have enrolled at UK, and will participate this spring with the women’s soccer team, UK head coach Jon Lipsitz announced Thursday.
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A forward/midfielder from Winfield, W.Va., Hoff graduated from Winfield High School. She is a four-time West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association (WVHSSCA) All-State selection and was named this year’s WVHSSCA Player of the Year. She was named the 2010 WVHSSCA Forward of the Year. Hoff played club soccer for the WV Chaos and coach Kernel Borneo. Most recently, Hoff was named the 2011 National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA) All-America Scholar Athlete of the Year. “Haleigh is a tremendous student-athlete as all of them are,” Lipsitz said. “She just won the award for NSCAA Scholar Athlete of the year, which literally means she is the top academic female soccer player amongst high schools in the country. That is a pretty unbelievable award, and to have her choose Kentucky not only for soccer, but for our excellent academics, is very exciting and we can’t wait for her to get here and get started.” |
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A goalie from Aurora, Ill., Morgan graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School. A member of the 2011 Region II championship team, Morgan played her club soccer for Sockers FC Chicago and coach Oleg Vatchev. She was a part of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) ’94 Region II team from 2008-11. “Kylie is a goalkeeper that we identified a long time ago because of her athletic ability,” Lipsitz said. “She has great feet, and she has the ability to set up the play out of the back, which is important to us with our style of play. We are excited to have her get here and start training with coach (Aaron) Rodgers right away.” |
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A forward from Carmel, Ind., Musleh attended and graduated from Carmel High School. A member of the U.S. u-14 national team, she played her club ball for Carmel United and Rade Martinovic where they claimed four state titles. She also played with the Ohio Elite, whom she helped win nationals last season. “Elaina is an extremely technical player that is very good at holding the ball,” Lipsitz said. “She is very good at connecting with teammates and I think this early period will be very important for her because we really don’t know what her top end will be yet; pushing her to reach her potential will be very important for her.” |
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Early enrollment will allow the trio to work out with the team during the spring season.
“Obviously, we are excited to get back out on the field and to get going again, and to have three members arrive after early graduation from high school is a great start for them,” Lipsitz said. “It is good for them to get involved as early as possible.
“I think this is a huge benefit to them athletically, but not nearly as big as it is academically. They will get a full semester of credits; they will be comfortable with our standards here. They will get to work with Mike Haley at CATS, get tutored and do their study-table hours because it is very difficult for a freshman coming in early-August and hitting the grind of a fall sport right away. We are always the first sport to start in the fall. It is very difficult for a newcomer, and to be ahead and comfortable academically, it allows them to be better in the fall.”
Hoff, Morgan and Musleh will compete as freshmen in the 2012 season this fall, but they’ll have a semester under their belt.
