Women's Soccer February 21, 2017 Athletic Communications

Hatters Sign Five for 2017

Stetson women's soccer head coach Manoj Khettry, and assistant coaches Emily Buccilla and Eric Reyes, announced today the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent to continue their education and playing careers with the Hatters, beginning next fall.

Khettry and his staff also announced the addition of two other newcomers who joined the program at the start of the spring semester in January.

Nicole Chimienti (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore HS), Sydney Cornell (Holmes Beach, Fla./Manatee HS) and Claire Morrison (Lutz, Fla/Steinbrenner HS) make up the Hatters' 2017 recruiting class. Marissa Maynes (Winter Springs, Fla/Winter Springs HS) and Emily Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla. /Milton (Ga.) HS) enrolled at Stetson in January and have been working out with the Hatters for the last several weeks.

"Emily, Eric and I are excited about this recruiting class," Khettry said. "We were able to identify the majority of them through the course of different tournaments and prospect clinics they attended here at Stetson and we have gotten to know them all very well. Marisa and Emily are here with us this spring, and we know that the rest of them will add real quality and depth to an even more competitive team. We also know we will hopefully be adding a couple of more to this class later this spring.

"The majority of them are from Florida, as that has been a focus of ours in recruiting and Emily has done a fantastic job identifying in-state players in this class and next year's, as well as, building relationships with club coaches in Florida. While we didn't lose a large group, the seniors were very important in terms of their leadership and the contributions they made to our team culture and setting a great example for our younger players. We are excited about the future of our program and know that this group will help us continue to improve."

NICOLE CHIMIENTI 9037

Height: 5-10
Position: D
High School: Bay Shore HS
Club Team: Brentwood Soccer Club
Club Coach: Chris Roche
Parents: Joseph and Kristine Chimienti

Two-time all-conference selection and team captain … helped Bay Shore make consecutive appearances in the postseason as a junior and senior for the first time in school history … scored 20 goals with 14 assists in her high school career … led the team in goals (7) and points (19) as a junior, and in points (17) as a senior … played club soccer for Brentwood Soccer Club … helped BSC to the ENY state championship three straight years … BSC advanced to NPL Nationals in 2015 and 2016.

Chose Stetson over: Albany, American, Binghamton, Bryant, FDU, Manhattan, Monmouth, New Hampshire, Siena, Stony Brook, Temple and USF.

Khettry on Chimenti: "Nicole is a very skillful central defender. Her ability to connect from the back will allow us to continue to build possession from defense and her ability to play a variety of balls: on the ground and in the air will help us be more unpredictable. She has a very educated "left" foot and is terrific serving a variety of free-kicks. We think she can potentially play a couple of positions, but we feel she has the best opportunity to contribute as a central defender or a defensive central midfielder. Her size and ability in the air will be an asset as well when defending aerial services and on set-pieces that she won't be serving."

SYDNEY CORNELL 9038

Height: 5-3
Position: MF
High School: Manatee HS
Club Team: Tampa Bay United
Club Coach: George Fotopoulos
Parents: Robert Cornell, Denise Brigg

Currently finishing her senior year at Manatee High … helped lead Manatee to district championships in 2014 and 2015, and runner-up finish in 2016 … scored 39 goals with 38 assists in her first three high school seasons … named first-team all-conference as a sophomore … became team captain as a junior … selected to the Florida ODP team B-Pool twice between 2013 and 2015 … played in ODP regionals in 2014 … plays club soccer for Tampa Bay United … played in the State Cup Elite 8 and won the WAGS Championship while played for United.

Chose Stetson over: Oral Roberts, Western Carolina and others.

Khettry on Cornell: "The first thing you notice about Sydney is her pace. She can get behind defenses and will stretch them with her movement. Sydney has experience playing as a forward, but we also feel like she can play in wide attacking positions from either midfield or as a true winger. We think she can help create more goal scoring chances for our team by beating opponents on the flank and getting services, but she also has the ability to score goals herself. The pace of our attackers is already very good, but adding another pacey attacker never hurts."

MARISA MAYNES 9039

Height: 5-5
Position: MF
High School: Winter Springs HS
Club Team: Orlando City Soccer
Club Coach: Sam Mitchell
Parents: Jim and Leigh Maynes

Helped lead club team Orlando City to a t No. 7 final ranking and an appearance at nationals … played in the state tournament three times and regionals twice … participated in the Nike ID2 National Camp and at PDP Florida and Regional Training Centers … two-time FYSA regional champion … also helped Orlando City to the Disney InterNational championship … led Winter Springs with 23 assists and also scored four goals as a senior.

Chose Stetson over: UCF, Ole Miss, Towson, Winthrop, Coastal Carolina and others.

Khettry on Maynes: "Marisa is here with us this semester and has a fantastic work-rate and is a prototypical central midfielder. She plays simply, connects the different lines, switches play and makes it easy for her teammates to play. She does a good job of covering ground in midfield and is a solid defender. I'm excited to see how she adapts this spring playing against college players as she is doing quite well in training thus far. I can see her adding a great deal of quality and depth in midfield, and will certainly make it even more competitive."

EMILY MILLER 9040

Height: 5-8
Position: D
High School: Milton (Ga.) HS
Club Team: Concorde Fire ECNL
Club Coach: James Harris
Parents: Kurt and Bethany Miller

Three-time Scholar-Athlete award winner at Milton High … named team MVP and won the Captain's Award in 2015 … helped lead Milton to three consecutive Region 6A championships.

Chose Stetson over: American, Eastern Washington, Rice and others.

Khettry on Miller: "Emily is extremely coachable and versatile in regards to where she plays on the field. We see her providing depth for us as an outside back or wide flank player. Emily's recognition to make off-the-ball runs out of the back combined with her athleticism makes her a dangerous threat going forward."

CLAIRE MORRISON 9041

Height: 5-8
Position: D
High School: Steinbrenner HS
Club Team: Tampa Bay United
Club Coach: George Fotopoulos
Parents: John and Annett Morrison

Currently concluding her senior year at Steinbrenner High … team captain … all-conference selection as a junior and senior (1^st team) … scored 13 goals and had three assists as SHS reached the Hillsborough County semi-finals … played club soccer for Tampa Chargers and Clearwater Chargers before joining Tampa Bay United this year … reached the state Sweet 16 with Clearwater, winning the Disney Labor Day Tournament … was in the final eight three times with Tampa.

Khettry on Morrison: "We feel Claire can play a variety of positions in the back-line: central defender and outside back. Claire is a terrific individual defender, skillful, hard and smart. She has good speed and ability in the air: she has all the characteristics and qualities to help her become a successful college defender. Claire is very composed on the ball and can build out of the back well; she fits right into the mold of the type of defender we have and continue to want in our program. I'm excited to see the depth that Claire can provide us in the back."

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Hatters Sign Five for 2017