Feb. 5, 2004

Memphis, Tenn. - University of Memphis women's soccer coach Brooks Monaghan announced the commitments of three prep athletes Thursday as Carla Scanniello, Natalie Haerens and Caroline Barrett each signed to play for the 2004 Lady Tigers. Monaghan went outside the state of Tennessee to lure his first three signees as the trio played scholastically in Colorado, Florida and Georgia, respectively. The fourth-year head coach expects to add three to four more signees to his 2004 class in the next few weeks.

Monaghan addressed his primary needs for the upcoming season adding a pair of forwards/midfielders and a goalkeeper to a team that will have to replace just two seniors. "I am really excited about these first three girls that we are bringing in," Monaghan said. "They each have enormous upside and can have an immediate impact on our team. We still have some room to add a couple of more players that should make this class even stronger."

Scanniello prepped at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo., where she was a four-year letter winner in both soccer and golf. She earned All-Region and second-team All-Conference honors as a senior under the direction of head coach John Schneider.

The five-foot-four forward tallied four goals and six assists in 2003 and finished her career with 14 goals and 11 assists. Also an accomplished golfer, she won the 2003 Colorado State Junior Match Play championship.

"Carla is a great athlete and has a tremendous work ethic," Monaghan said. "She is someone that we feel can contribute at a wide midfield or forward spot right away. All three of our signees are fierce competitors and should add a spark to the squad."

Haerens prepped at Lake Mary (Fla.) High School where she earned four varsity letters for head coach Bill Eissele. Haerens helped guide Lake Mary to the Florida Class 4A state championship in 2002 and the 4A regional championship in 2003 as the team's starting goalkeeper. She was a member of the Florida Olympic Development state team from 1999-2003.

The five-foot-nine goalkeeper collected numerous awards and honors throughout her prep career including NSCAA Regional All-America status in 2003. She was an Orlando Sentinel All-County and All-Central Florida team member in 2003. Hearens posted a 41-9-5 career record and held a 0.71 goals against average.

"Natalie is a very talented goalkeeper that comes from a winning high school program," Monaghan said. "She will challenge for starting spot right away and has tons of potential that hopefully I can help her meet while she is at Memphis."

Barrett split time between sweeper and forward excelling at both for head coach Tommy Garcia in her four seasons at Aquinas High School in August, Ga. She broke school records last season for both goals and assists in a season with 36 in each category helping lead her squad to a 13-5-1 record.

A member of the Georgia Olympic Development state team from 2002-2003, Barrett also played club soccer for the Columbia County Patriots. Barrett captained the Patriots from 2001-2003 and scored 41 goals in her three seasons with the team.

"Caroline is also extremely athletic and she really knows how to score goals," Monoghan said. "You can't have enough goal scorers and we think we have someone in Caroline who can do that right away for us."