Barnes Adds Two to 2018 Recruiting Class
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami first-year head soccer coach Sarah Barnes announced Friday the addition of two players to the team’s 2018 recruiting class.
After welcoming four early enrollees and signing four others, the Hurricanes have now inked Rutgers transfer Alexa Ferreira and Icelandic standout Gudrun Haralz.
“We’re excited for Alexa and Gudrun to join the program,” Barnes said. “Alexa brings a year of collegiate experience and will add depth to our midfield. Gudrun can play a few different positions, has experience with the national team system and has competed against ACC players. Both will create a more competitive environment this season.”
A 5-foot-3-inch midfielder from Warren, N.J., Ferreira joins the Hurricanes after one season at Rutgers in which she played in all 21 of the team’s matches. She started 19 contests, logging two goals and two assists, helping the Scarlet Knights to a 13-2-6 record.
Ferreira, who played 60-plus minutes 11 times, scored the eventual game-winning goal in Rutgers’ NCAA Championship Round of 64 victory over La Salle.
A former Top Drawer Soccer four-star recruit out of Watchung Hills Regional High School, Ferreira was a High School All-American and a Courier News First Team All-Area pick after tallying 21 goals and 17 assists as a senior. She has played with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the U-14, U-15 and U-17 levels, as well as the Portuguese Women’s National Team at the U-19 level.
Haralz comes to Miami from Kópavogur, Iceland, where she attended Verzlunarskóli Íslands, the nation’s oldest private school. A 5-foot-7-inch forward, Haralz competed with Breiðablik on the club level since she was seven years old.
Now a member of Breiðablik’s top squad, Haralz has posted nine goals in 36 outings across various Icelandic competitions in the past three-plus years and helped the team reach a Gothia Cup China.
In addition, Haralz has played for multiple Iceland Women’s National Teams, at the U-17 and U-19 age groups, starting with the former in 2015. Haralz has logged 12 caps at each level, tallying 13 goals with the U-17 team and one with the U-19 side.
Ferreira and Haralz join a quartet of January enrollees in Sierra Frey, Erika Middleton, Sammy Neyman and Mallory Olsson, as well as Kara Borden, Selena Fortich, Ariana Munoz and Tyler Speaks in Miami’s 2018 recruiting class.
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