July 11, 2006

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Three members of the University of Richmond women's soccer team were named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team as announced by the conference yesterday. The Spiders' frontline looks promising for the upcoming season as freshmen forwards Jessie Knight, Jen Ruhe, and Kristen Stalter were each awarded preseason recognition by the league's head coaches.

Knight (Baltimore, Md.), the 2005 Baltimore Sun Metro Player of the Year, led her team in scoring for three years straight. She was named the Baltimore County Player of the Year in 2005, selected as a NSCAA Regional All-American in 2005 and was named to the Maryland All-State first team in 2005.

She was also honored to the All-Metro first team in 2005 and All-Metro second team in 2003, twice named Baltimore First Team All-County, twice honored as a Baltimore Sun Athlete of the Week and was named First Team All-City/County in 2003.

The three-time First Team All-Division/County honoree led her team to the County Championships in 2002 and 2005, the Regional Championships in 2002 and 2003, and the State Finals in 2002 and 2003. Additionally, she was the starting forward for the Maryland State ODP team (2004-05) and leading goal scorer in 2005.

Ruhe (Frederick, Md.), a MACS All-State first team honoree in 2005, finished her high school career as the second leading scorer in Urbana H.S. women's soccer history (52 goals) and the assist record holder (30).

The 2004 Frederick News Post Co-Player of the Year was named a Soccer Buzz Top 150 Recruit, selected to the Frederick News Post first team in 2005, selected to the NSCAA All-South Region team in 2005, named MVAL Chesapeake Conference All-League in 2005, named to the MVAL All-Conference first team in 2003 and 2004 and named to the All-State first team in 2004.

Additionally, she was twice named an All-Met Honorable Mention, was a two-time All-Area honoree, was named a MACS All-State honorable mention in 2003 and the Frederick News Post Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, selected to the All-Conference second team in 2002 and voted "best new player" in the Hawks' program her freshman year.

Stalter (Strongsville, Ohio), a Soccer Buzz Top 100 Recruit, led her team to two state championships, scoring 44 career goals and adding 62 assists. The three time Pioneer Conference first team selection was named to the All-Ohio third team in 2005 and the All-Ohio second team in 2004, in addition to being named a NSCAA Regional All-American in 2004 and the Offensive MVP for three years straight.

She was a member of the ODP Region 2 Team from 2002-04, the US U-16 National Team and the US U-17 Adidas All-Star Team.

The Spiders will open the 2006 campaign on August 25 at 5:00 p.m. as they face Rutgers at the JMU/Comfort Inn Invitational.