PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida head women’s soccer coach Joe Bartlinski announced the addition of 11 student-athletes who will compete for the Argonauts in 2012, six of which are transfers.
“We have a lot of individual talent coming in, players that have done well previously,” Bartlinski said. “Team chemistry will be huge, and how they can get along on and off the field will be a big factor. If they can gel and become a good collective unit, I see a lot of good things happening.”
After losing two of his top three goal scorers from 2011, Bartlinski looked to junior colleges to reload in 2012.
The Argonauts added five athletes who played in the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I national championship game last season. The new additions were headlined by the 2011 NJCAA leading goal scorer, Sashana Campbell (Manchester, Jamaica), who scored 36 goals for Darton College in Albany, Ga. She was a second-team All-American.
Campbell transferred with teammates Shelby Bush (Shalimar, Fla.), who ranked fourth in the NJCAA with 33 goals for Darton last season, and goalkeeper Sarah Story (Hoover, Ala.). Story recorded 14 shutouts with a 0.57 goals against average last season. She also played NCAA Division I soccer during her freshman year in 2010, starting for Ole Miss and setting school records for saves in a season (109) and saves in a match (17).
In addition to the former Darton players, UWF gained two transfers from the 2011 NJCAA champions, Tyler College in Tyler, Texas. The transfers included first-team All-American Chelsea Palmer (Plano, Texas), who scored 10 goals with 13 assists last season, and April Syme (Mississauga, Ontario)
In addition to her national championship with Tyler, Palmer won a national championship with Richland College in 2009 during her freshman year where she tallied a goal and an assist in the national title game. She was a first-team NJCAA Division III All-American for her work at Richland.
Shanice Monteith (George Town, Cayman Islands), who has seen playing time for the Cayman Islands national team, transferred to UWF after attending University College of the Cayman Islands from 2010-2012.
Five true freshmen joined the team for the 2012 season.
Local athlete Lana Chechak (Pace, Fla.) joined the Argos after scoring 20 goals and recording 36 assists her senior year at Pace High School on the way to being named to the Pensacola News Journal all-area team for the second time in her high school career.
She was joined by keeper Emily Grammer (Panama City, Fla.) who joined the team after setting school and Bay County records with 50 shutouts during her high school career, including a single-season record 17 her freshman year. Grammer’s high school teammate Emily Vogler (Lynn Haven, Fla.), who was a four-time all-county honoree and named to the all-district team twice, also joined the Argos.
Brittanie Hensley (Enterprise, Ala.) will attempt to help improve the Argos offensive attack this season. She scored 46 goals and 20 assists in her time at Enterprise High. The Argos also added Sophia Sanchez (Tampa, Fla.) who played left and right back at Plant High School.
The women’s soccer season will begin play on the road Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. against Belmont Abbey at the North Georgia campus in Dahlonega, Ga. The Argos’ first home game will be Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. when they host Rollins College.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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West Florida Women's Soccer Roster
