Florida Soccer Announce Nine Additions

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (February 23, 2005) - University of Florida head coach Becky Burleigh announced Wednesday that seven players will join the Gator soccer program for the 2005 fall season. In addition, two new players have joined the Florida team this spring - one as a transfer and one after graduating early from high school.

Leading the class is two midfielders with ties to their national teams - midfielder Ameera Abdullah of Denver, Colo., and Katarina Bazos of London, Ontario. Abdullah is a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas Girls Youth All-America selection. She also was a member of the U.S. under-16 and U-17 National Teams. Bazos is a current member of the 2005 U-20 Canadian National Team. She was part of the Canadian National Team that went to U-19 World Championships in Thailand in 2003. Bazos and current Gator All-American Melanie Booth played together on the Toronto Inferno club team.

Florida's class contains several players with considerable Olympic Development Program (ODP) experience. Forward Carly Deiter of Freedom, Pa., was selected to the 2003 and '04 Region I ODP and was a five-year starter for the Pennsylvania West ODP. She played for Sewickley Academy as a freshman, sophomore and junior and scored the game-winning goal to give SA the 2003 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AA title. Katie Davis, a goalkeeper from Lake Mary, Fla., was a member of the 2001 and '02 Florida ODP state teams. Davis led Lake Highland Prep to the 2005 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A soccer final last weekend.

Forward Katie Green of Knoxville, Tenn., has been a part of the Tennessee State ODP team since 1999 and is part of the Region III U-19 team. She is the 2005 Tennessee Player of the Year and also a 2004 and '05 Tennessee Sportswriter's All-State selection. Megan Kerns, a forward from Ames, Iowa, is a seven-year ODP participant, including five years on the Region II ODP team. She attended the ODP National Camp in 2000, '01 and '02. Kerns is also a National Merit Scholar finalist. Forward Brittney Marriott of Satellite is a three-year ODP member and was selected to the 2001-04 Florida State "A" ODP team. Marriott, who comes from the same high school as former Gator All-American Andi Sellers, led Satellite High School to the 2002 and '03 Florida Class 5A state title.

Forward Stacy Bishop of Land O'Lakes transferred to UF for the spring 2005 semester after playing the last two seasons for Louisiana State University. In 2004, Bishop earned All-Southeastern Conference second team honors and was third in the league with 25 points off of nine goals and seven assists. She will sit out the 2005 season due to her transfer between league schools. Another newcomer to the Gator program this spring is forward/midfielder Jacie Henderson of Rochester, N.H. Henderson played for the New Hampshire state team from 2001-04 and earned New Hampshire Class L First Team All-State honors four consecutive years. She graduated early from Portsmouth Christian Academy, enrolled at UF in January and will train with the Gator soccer team this spring.

"This is a gifted class that will address our needs," UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. "We feel that we signed some quality individuals who will excel on and off the soccer field. I am very excited about this group and look forward to working with them this fall."

The Gator soccer team turned in a 16-4-3 record in 2004, won the Southeastern Conference Tournament title and made its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance.

2005 University of Florida Newcomers
Name Pos. High School/College Hometown
Ameera Abdullah Midfielder Smoky Hill Denver, Colo.
Katarina Bazos Midfielder Sir Fredrick Banting Secondary School London, Ontario, Canada
Stacy Bishop Forward Land O'Lakes/LSU Land O' Lakes, Fla.
Katie Davis Goal Keeper Lake Highland Prepatory School Lake Mary, Fla.
Carly Deiter Forward Sewickley Academy Freedom, Pa.
Katie Green Forward Farragut Knoxville, Tenn.
Jacie Henderson Forward/Midfielder Portsmouth Christian Academy Rochester, N.H.
Megan Kerns Forward Ames Ames, Iowa
Britteny Marriott Forward Satellite Satellite Beach, Fla.


Ameera Abdullah
NSCAA/adidas Girls Youth All-American (2002, 2003, 2004)*Played on the U-16 and U-17 U.S. National Teams*Four year member of both Colorado State and Regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams*First-team Colorado Class 5A in 2004*Member of Real Colorado club team that won U-16 and U-18 Colorado state titles, reached the U-15 and U-17 Orange Classic finals and finished seventh in the U-18 national rankings*Trained at the U.S. Soccer National Training/Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif*Played high school soccer for Smoky Hill H.S. the last two years and part of Centennial League championships teams both years*Will graduate from Smoky Hill High School in Denver, Colo., in June of 2005*Coached by Mike Rivas and Jared Spires at Real Colorado Club team*Contacted by more than 100 schools in the recruiting process.

Katarina Bazos
A current member of the 2005 U-20 Canadian National Team*Member of the U-19 Canadian National Team that went to U-19 World Championships in Thailand in 2003* Played midfielder alongside current Gator All-American Melanie Booth on the Toronto Inferno*Led the Inferno in points (12), assist (4), and shots (23), and also second in goals (4) in 2004* From 1997-03, played for the London Shooting Stars and within a span of seven years won the Ontario Cup three times (2000, 2002, 2003), won national championship (2000), won the Indoor Ontario Cup (2003), won the provincial championship (2001), and also provincial runner-up (2003)* Team MVP for London Shooting Stars for six consecutive years (1998-2003) and top point leader for six years (1998-00, 2002-04)* Has participated in the National Training Center Ontario (NTC-O)*Member of the 2001 U-15 Ontario Provincial National Championship team*In 2002, member of the U-16 Ontario Provincial and U-16 Canadian National Teams*U-17 Ontario Provincial Team, and part of the U-17 and U-19 Canadian National Teams in 2003*Graduated from Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, Ontario, Canada in 2004.

Stacy Bishop
Enrolled at the University of Florida in spring of 2005 after playing for Louisiana State University in the 2003 and '04 seasons*All-Southeastern Conference Second Team (2004)*Led SEC in shots (92), third in points (25), fourth in assists (7) and fifth in goals (9) in 2004*2004 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana Women's Soccer Team member*Louisiana Freshman of the Year (2003)*LSU Offensive MVP (2003)*Florida Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) participant in 1999-02*Member of HC United Club Team*Dairy Farmers Florida Class 2A Player of the Year (2003) and earned Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Class 2A First Team All- State honors in 2001, '02 and '03*Pasco County all-time scoring leader (192 goals)*Sunshine Athletic Conference Pasco County Player of the Year (2000-03)*Tampa Tribune Pasco County Player of the Year (2000-03)*St. Petersburg Times Pasco County Player of the Year (2000-03)*Scored the only goal of the match to give Land O'Lakes High School the 2003 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 2A state title

Katie Davis
2001 and '02 Florida Olympic Development Program (ODP) Florida State team member*Member of FC America Kumba club team since 2003 and is coached by Tino Rodrigues*Four year member of Lake Highland Prep School soccer team, where she is also coached by Rodrigues*Led Lake Highland Prep to the 2005 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A soccer final.*Team took 2004-05 Region title and was runner-up in 2003-04*Will graduate from Lake Highland Prepatory School in Lake Mary, Fla., in June of 2005.

Carly Deiter
2003 and '04 Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) selection*Five year starter for Pennsylvania West ODP*Four-year member of Beadling Centennials club team, where she was coached by Tom Murphy and Erik Ingram*Club team won 2002, '03, '04 Pennsylvania West state championships*Beadling Centennials took third at 2003 Region I tournament*Played for Sewickley Academy three seasons (did not play as a senior), where she was coached by Jessica Peluso*Scored game-winning goal as Sewickley Academy won 2003 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AA title*SA also was runner-up in 2002 state championship*Will graduate from Sewickley Academy in Freedom, Pa., in 2005*Twin sister (Casey) signed a national letter of intent with the University of New Hampshire.

Katie Green
Participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) with the Tennessee State Team from 1999-05*Member of Region III U-19 (ODP) team*Eight-year member of Diadora Impact club team where she was coached by Phil McNamara *Club team claimed 2005 Orange Classic title*Team also was 2001 Tennessee state champions and runner-up in 2004*Four-year starter for Farragut High School where she was coached by Dennis Lindsay*2004 and '05 Tennessee Sportswriter's All-State selection*2005 Tennessee Player of the Year*Farragut High School was 2005 Tennessee Class 3A State runner-up*Named district MVP in 2005 and four-time member of all-district team*Regional player of the year (2005)*Will graduate from Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2005*mother and father are UF graduates.

Jacie Henderson (Pronunciation: Jackie)
National Christian Schools Athletic Association (NCSAA) Girls Varsity Soccer All-American First Team selection in 2005*Portsmouth Christian Academy MVP for five consecutive years*New Hampshire Class L First Team All-State (2001, '02, '03, '04) and honorable mention in 2000*Coached by Jim Henderson at Portsmouth Christian Academy*Played forward/midfield for Seacoast United Soccer Club U17 (2002) and also Seacoast United Super Y Team (2003-2004)*Played for the ODP New Hampshire State Team (2001-2004)*New Hampshire TOC State Cup Champions (U14, U16, & U17 SUSC)*Coached by Paul Willis and Dave Burgess at Seacoast United*Graduated early from Portsmouth Christian Academy and enrolled at the University of Florida in January of 2005.

Megan Kerns
Forward for the Ankeny Soccer Club for six years and also appears at midfielder*Won six consecutive State Cup Championships with Ankeny Soccer Club*Participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) for seven years* Played for Regional II ODP team for five years*Attended the 2000, '01 and '02 ODP National Camp* Went on European Tour with the Region II ODP in 2004 and with Iowa ODP in 2001*Member of championship team at 2001 Vildbjerg (Denmark) Cup with Iowa ODP and also part of 2001 Norway Cup quarterfinal team in Oslo, Norway*Coached by Ozzie White at the Ankeny Soccer Club*National Merit Scholar Finalist and academic four year letter winner* Will graduate from Ames High School in Ames, Iowa, in 2005.

Brittney Marriott
Played forward and also appeared at left outside midfield for three years with the Indialantic Force*Won state championship with Indialantic Force in 2002*Earned Michelle Akers Classic All-Tournament First Team Honors (2003)*Three-year member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP)*Made (ODP) Florida State "A" Team (2001-2004)* Member of Satellite High School team that won the 2002 and '03 Florida Class 5A State Championships, runner-up in 2004 and reached the semifinals in 2005*Other high school honors include Team Offensive MVP (2004), All-State Team (2004), Florida All-Space Coast Team (2002-2004), Rookie of the Year (2001), and Orlando Sentinel Player of the Year (2004)*Scored 104 goals during her high school career*Member of Southeastern Regional Team in (2003)*Coached by Fitzgerald Haig at the Indialantic Force and Fidgi Haig at Satellite High School*Will graduate from Satellite High School in Satellite Beach, Fla., in 2005.