Tar Heel Women's Soccer Adds Nine Newcomers For 2017
June 21, 2017 | Women's Soccer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina women's soccer program finalized its recruiting class for 2017 this week, head coach Anson Dorrance announced Tuesday.
The recruiting class includes four freshmen who enrolled at Carolina in January 2017 as well as another four players who have been admitted to the University and will enroll in August of this year. Another player attended Carolina as a freshman last year and is joining UNC women's soccer for her sophomore season this fall.
Miah Araba is a local player for the Tar Heels who is a native of Chapel Hill and the valedictorian of the 2017 class at Carrboro High School. The 5-3 Araba played four years of high school soccer at Carrboro High where she was a member of 2A NCHSAA state championship teams three straight years from 2015-17. Each of those years she was named All-Conference, All-Region and All-State. In 47 career games, she recorded 147 points on 54 goals and 39 assists. She was consistent throughout her career, recording 46 points as a sophomore, 41 points as a junior and 50 points as a senior.
Brooke Bingham is another native of the Tar Heel State, hailing from Laurel Springs. She enrolled in January and stands 5-9. Bingham has been playing soccer on the club level since she was 12 years old but did not play high school soccer, practicing with a boys' team instead. She is a veteran of the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP program, being included on rosters and called into camps at the U18 and U19 levels since late 2014.
Sam DeSantis attended Carolina as a freshman in 2016-17 and is being added to the roster as a goalkeeper in the fall. She was a Dean's List student at Carolina as a freshman, earning a 3.94 grade point average while majoring in information science and mathematics. DeSantis stands 5-7 and played four years of soccer at Saint Stephens High School in her hometown of Hickory, N.C. She was an All-State and All-Conference honoree in high school while serving as the team captain.
Emily Fox enrolled at Carolina in the spring semester 2017 and is a long-tenured member of U.S. women's soccer youth national teams. Fox stands 5-5 and is a native of Ashburn, Va. Fox attended Stone Bridge High School where she played one year of varsity soccer before concentrating on ODP and youth national team soccer. She earned membership on the U.S. U20 women's national team beginning in 2015 and still maintains membership on the team, currently as team captain. She was a member of the U.S. team which participated in the U20 World Cup in Papua, New Guinea in November 2016. Her UNC teammates Jessie Scarpa and Taylor Otto were also members of that squad. Fox was named to the Best XI Team at right defender at the 2015 CONCACAF Championships in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Alea Hyatt joined the Tar Heels in January 2017 from the West Coast where she attended Santa Barbara High School in California. An athletic training major, Hyatt stands 5-9 and has a brother, Colin, who plays soccer at Stanford. She played soccer in high school and was also a kicker on the football team. Hyatt played for both the Eagles Soccer Club and Surf Soccer Club, was part of the Olympic Development Program and a U18 U.S. Women's National Team member. She is a lifelong native of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Alessia Russo stands 5-9 and joins the Tar Heels from her hometown of Maidstone, Kent, England. She is an alumna of St. Simon Stock Catholic School where she excelled in soccer, cross country, track and field, cricket and netball. Russo currently plays for Brighton and Hove Albion WFC in the English Women's Super League and for the England U19 Team. She has played for England since the U15 level and has earned 50 caps and scored 23 goals overall. Russo played for the England U17 side in the FIFA World Cup in Amman, Jordan in October 2016.
Laura Sparling is another local player for the Tar Heels who will enroll in August. She stands 5-5 and is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C. Sparling attended Carrboro High School from 2014-17, where she played midfield and forward on the women's soccer squad, starting all four years. She led Carrboro High School to three straight NCHSAA 2A state title-winning teams from 2015-17. She notched the game-winning goal in the state championship game as a senior when she was tapped for the All-Conference, All-Region and All-State honor squads. Despite being injured her junior year, she finished her high school career with 19 goals and 27 assists.
Sydney Spruill enrolled at Carolina in January 2017 and is majoring in communications. Standing 5-5 tall, Spruill is a native of Greenville, N.C., where she attended Rose High School. An accomplished youth soccer and volleyball player, she spent eight years on CASL, PGSA, Orlando City and Concorde Fire club soccer squads. She played one year of high school soccer at Rose in the spring of 2016, scoring 23 goals and adding 20 assists while being named first-team All-State.
Lotte Wubben-Moy will enroll at Carolina in August 2017. Standing 5-10 tall, she is a 2017 alumna of Stoke Newington School and Sixthform in London, England, where she competed in soccer, netball and track and field. Wubben-Moy is an accomplished veteran of English youth national teams. She captained the English side in the 2016 U17 Women's U17 World Cup in Amman, Jordan. Wubben-Moy also has garnered two FA Youth Cup wins with Arsenal Ladies at the U17 level. Overall, she has made 12 appearances with the Arsenal Ladies within in the space of three seasons with her debut coming at the age of 16. Wubben-Moy has 35 international appearances for England from the U15-U19 levels, recording three goals and five assists. She primarily plays a center back spot for her club and national teams.
