Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Announce Signing of Six
2/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Feb. 9, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University Women's Soccer Head Coach Jenny Haigh has announced the signing of six players to National Letters of Intent. They will matriculate to Northwestern in the fall of 2004 and are eligible to play for the Wildcats next season.
Haigh went near and far in her signing class for 2004. She stayed local to Chicagoland in signing Kelly Sitkowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill./James B. Conant), and went to her home region of Minneapolis to procure Kelsey Hans (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) and Stephanie Krutsch (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels), both of whom are club teammates of Northwestern's Big Ten All-Freshman Team player Shannon Schneeman. Hans is the most decorated of the six signees; this fall she was named All-America by the National High School Coaches Association of America. Haigh also went out of the region to sign Caitlin Carr (Cordova, Tenn./St. Mary's); Danielle Iordanou (Upper Brookville, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy); and Beth Martin (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's).
"I think this is the best class we have had in my time here," said Haigh. "This year we really upgraded our team's ability to attack more productively -- that was our priority in recruiting, and it is exciting to know we will be more dangerous around the goal. We also have increased our team speed and athleticism with this group, as well as covered our bases position-wise from the graduation of our three seniors.
"Each of these players has the ability, on paper, to start or compete for significant minutes as freshmen," Haigh continued. "This group will certainly help our whole program raise the bar because they are, collectively, a very good group. I really look forward to solving the puzzle of figuring out the best lineup at any given time; we will have a lot of quality options with this group."
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S SOCCER
2004 Early Signee Bios
CAITLIN CARR
M/F * 5-8
Cordova, Tenn./St. Mary's
High School: Four-year starter on soccer team, served as a captain her last two years ... School recordholder for career goals (83) and assists (64) ... Four-time all-region ... Four-time Commercial Appeal Best of Preps selection ... One of her region's leading scorers all four years ... Helped team to district final and state tournament in 2001, and district semis in 2002 and 2003 ... Won team's offenvis MVP award three times and St. Mary's Award in 2000 and 2003 ... High school coaches were Chris Cook and Scott Spencer ... Club team, Germantown S.C. Fury, won six state cup titles during her tenure ... Top scorer at state tournament every year from 2001-03 ... Member of Tennessee State ODP team from 2000-03 ... Selected to Region III under-19 regional team in 2003 as a 17-year-old ... Also lettered in track (5), basketbal (2), swimming (1), bowling (2) and cross country (1) ... In track, finished third in 400 and fifth in 1600 at state championships ... Holds regional championships record in the 1600.
Personal: Born Caitlin Elise Carr on 10/11/85 ... Daughter of Molly and William Scott Carr.
Coach Haigh: "Caitlin is an attacking player who can play out wide or up top. She covers a lot of ground and feels very comfortable running at people with the ball, and she can run all day. Caitlin is also a competitor who has a bit of edge to her game, and I think she is going to find a way to make her mark in our program from the get-go. She is a player who is still finding her upward limits, and that is exciting."
KELSEY HANS
F * 5-6
Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville
High School: 2003 NSCAA All-America ... 2003 Minnesota Ms. Soccer ... Finished career with 85 goals and 48 assists, both school records ... Three-time all-state selection ... 2003 Minneapolis Star Tribune Player of the Year ... Three-time Star Tribune All-Metro pick ... Four-time All-Lake Conference ... Led high school team to Lake Conference title in 2001 ... Panthers finished fourth in state championships three times in her career (2000, 2002, 2003) ... High school coach was Dan Flood ... Member of Minnesota's ODP team and made Region II pool ... Club team is Tsunami Sota ... Two-time national runer-up with Tsunami, also won two regional titles and three state titles ... Club coach is Danny Storlein ... 2003 Alamo Cup MVP ... Also lettered in track ... Honor roll student.
Personal: Born Kelsey Marie Hans on 6/2/86 ... Parents are Nancy and Jeff Hans ... Father played basketball at Kent State ... One of two members of the Tsunami Sota club team to sign with NU this year, she will join former club teammate Shannon Schneeman (a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick in 2003) on the Wildcats' roster next fall ... Also played with NU goalkeeper Whitney Jones on the ODP Region II team.
Coach Haigh: "Kelsey is a very good forward who is strong and classy. She was awarded the title of Ms. Soccer in Minnesota, and was also named a high school All-America. Both of those honors adequately reflect her abilities, and we are excited to have her offensive-mindedness on our front line next year. Kelsey has the ability to be one of the best newcomers in the Big Ten, and we will definitely look to her to score some goals this fall."
DANIELLE IORDANOU
D * 5-11
Upper Brookville, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercyz
High School: Four-year starter for Lady Mustangs, and captained them as a senior ... Two-time All-Long Island selection ... All-CHSAA pick in 2001 ... Four-time member of All-Academic team ... Helped team to three Class B League championships (2001-03) ... High school coach was Mary Goodvich ... Played club soccer for Syosset Premier and F.C. Elite ... Team won state title and advanced to regional final in 2003 ... Won a Premier League title in 2000 ... Also lettered four times in basketball ... Has helped hoop team to 2002 CHSAA title and Class B state championship game, and two other state semifinal appearances ... Spanish National Honor Society member ... First honor roll student.
Personal: Born Danielle Iordanou on 9/29/86 ... Daughter or Marianne and Constantine Iordanou ... Father played soccer at NYU and played post-collegiately with the New York Freedom.
Coach Haigh: "We saw Danielle at camp last summer and loved the way she competed. She plays with such focus and intensity, and combines it with a mobile 6-foot frame. Danielle can play as a sweeper, back, or defensive center midfielder; her strength and size are qualities that we are excited to plug into our program and will help us against some of the more physical conference opponents."
STEPHANIE KRUTSCH
D * 5-8
Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels
High School: Five-year letterwinner in soccer ... Served as team captain ... Graduates as the Stars' all-time leading scorer with 55 goals and 33 assists ... Two-time all-state and two-time honorable mention all-state ... First-team Minneapolis Star Tribune All-Metro ... First-team St. Paul Pioneer Press All-Metro ... Two-time honorable mention Sun Newspaper all-region team ... Three-time All-Missota Conference pick ... Helped team to 57-3-9 record her last three years ... Stars also won four Missota Conference titles, three sectional titles and one state championship (two runner-up finishes) ... Scored two goals in state championship game that Holy Angels won, also assisted all three goals in 3-2 state semifinal win ... High school coach was Mark Cook ... Club team is Tsunami Sota ... Helped team to three state cup championships, two regional titles, and two national runner-up finishes ... Club coach is Danny Storlein ... Also a five-year member of Minnesota's ODP team, and four-time member of Region II team pool ... National Honor Society and German National Honor Society member.
Personal: Born Stephanie Claire Krutsch on 3/6/86 ... Parents are Carole and Michael Krutsch ... Father played football at Colorado College and later coached at Colorado College and Beloit College ... One of two members of the Tsunami Sota club team to sign with NU this year, she will join former club teammate Shannon Schneeman (a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick in 2003) on the Wildcats' roster next fall.
Coach Haigh: "I think it is safe to say that if Kelsey Hans was Ms. Soccer in Minnesota, Stephanie was most likely the runner-up! Steph has ODP Regional Team experience, and she is an impact player for arguably the best club team in her age group, Tsunami Sota. She is experienced at a high level of soccer and as a center back, and can also provide depth as a defensive center midfielder. Stephanie is a sophisticated soccer player, and she will be a wonderful addition."
BETH MARTIN
D * 5-4
Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's
High School: Four-year letterwinner in soccer ... 2003 All-Southern Preparatory Conference (SPC) selection ... Helped team to runner-up finish in SPC in 2003 ... High school coaches were Jon McCain, Bobby Murphy and Charleton Perry ... Club team, 86 Warriors Black, won 2003 South Texas title and advanced to under-17 Girls' regional semifinal ... Also lettered in field hockey (captaining the team) and track.
Personal: Born Mary Elizabeth Martin on 5/9/86 ... Daughter of Remie and Bill Martin ... Twin sister, Clory, plays soccer at Rice ... Brother, Lawrence, plays handball at Army.
Coach Haigh: "I think Beth could be the surprise of this class; she had some impressive opportunities on the table during the recruiting process, and she chose Northwestern because it was such a good fit for her. She will add a lot of speed to our lineup, and has the ability to play out wide as an attacking back or a midfielder. Beth comes from a good club background and will be prepared to transition immediately into our system."
KELLY SITKOWSKI
F/M * 5-9
Elk Grove Village, Ill./James B. Conant
High School: Four-year letterwinner in soccer ... Team captain ... Enters her senior season with 53 career goals and 68 assists ... Three-time Daily Herald All-Area ... Three-time All-Mid Suburban League West selection ... Two-time Pioneer Press All-Section ... Two-time Great Northwest Player ... Helped team to 2001 conference and regional titles ... High school coach is Brian Fairwood ... Club team, Chicago Sockers FC, won 2002 state cup title and was runner-up in 2001 ... Member of 2002 Illinois ODP ... Also lettered four times in basketball ... National Honor Society and Foreign Language Honor Society member ... Honor roll student.
Personal: Born Kelly Lind Sitkowski on 10/21/85 ... Parents are Michelle Frede and Andy Sitkowski.
Coach Haigh: "I believe Kelly might be the most versatile player in our program this fall-she can play up top, out wide, in the back, or as a central midfielder. I have no idea where we will use her, but I do know she will challenge for a starting role-all over the field! She is tough, athletic, has solid pace, distributes the ball well, and impacts the game wherever she is on the field. We are also happy to have another local standout join our program; it is important to us that we keep the local talent around, because the soccer in Chicago is so strong."
