Jamaica, N.Y.  The St. Johns University womens soccer 2002 recruiting class was ranked 11th of 41 teams in the northeast region by Soccer Buzz Magazine. The class, made up of eight incoming freshman from four different states and one foreign country, ranks among the top-100 recruiting classes in the country.

Helping the Red Storm up front at the forward position will be Kaitlin Schmidt (Centereach, N.Y.). Schmidt is from St. Anthonys High School and was a member of the 2001 New York State Catholic High School Championship team.

In the midfield, coach Ian Stone added depth by signing Erin Henderson (Watervliet, N.Y.), Mallory DiMaio (Orefield, Pa.), Laura Burlacu (Flushing, N.Y.) and Stephanie Ramia (Salisbury, Md.). Henderson is from Watervliet High School and was the 2001 Section II New York State Player of the Year. Burlacu, a local player, graduated from Newcomers High School where she earned 2001 and 2002 PSAL Player of the Year honors. DiMaio played at Parkland High School where she was a member of the 2001 Mountain Valley Conference championship team. Ramia, a graduate of James M. Bennett High School, was named to the conference first-team and given All-State Honorable Mention accolades.

On the back line, Andrea Coukoulis (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Alicia Hartley (Westminster, Calif.) strengthen an already talented and veteran defensive unit. Coukoulis is from Horizon High School where she earned All-City and All-Desert Valley Region first-team honors as captain and MVP of the 2002 state runner-up squad. Hartley played at Mater Dei High School serving as team captain for CIF Division III finalist Mater Dei and was named All-CIF Div. III first-team.

In goal, the Red Storm added talent from the international level when Tracey Rollings (Paignton, Devon, England) committed to St. Johns. Rollins played representative soccer with the Somerset County Youth F.A. and the Devon County Senior team, as well as being a member of Englands Under-19 International team.

The 2002 St. Johns womens soccer team opens their regular season on Tuesday September 3, when they play host to Fordham University.