CHARLESTON, S.C. – Citadel women's soccer head coach Ciaran Traquair announced the signing of seven players to their National Letters of Intent.

The seven players include two goalkeepers, two defenders, two forwards and a midfielder. The seven include Brooke Cheatham, Annika "Ani" Ford, Yulia Hayes, Marie Helen Le Gallo, Hayley Long, Brianna Sikes and Katerina "Kat" Welby.

"The 2019 group adds quality in every area of our squad. I think they will make an immediate impact on and off the field," Traquair said. "We have worked hard at finding players who fit our playing style and have the maturity to handle a lot of responsibility as freshmen. Every one of these players has the personality to have a positive influence in our team environment. This class is coming in to the program at a very good time. The future is bright."
 
Brooke Cheatham
F | Gloucester, Va. (Gloucester HS)
Cheatham boasts 34 career goals scored and 21 career assists heading into her senior season at Gloucester High School. A three-year varsity letterwinner, she has earned all-conference honors twice and been the leading scorer on her team twice. As a junior in 2018, Cheatham earned all-district first-team honors after netting 13 goals and six assists. The season before, she scored a career-high 14 goals and added 10 assists en route to being named to the all-conference first team. As a freshman in 2016, Cheatham was a starting forward, scoring seven goals to go along with five assists and was named a second-team all-conference selection.

With her club team, Richmond Kickers Elite, she helped guide the team to the Women and Girls in Soccer (W.A.G.S.) championship crown and were the state cup semi-finalist in 2018. In 2017, the Kickers were W.A.G.S. champions.

Away from soccer, earned varsity letters in cross country and track and field and was an All-Conference 10 Penn South selection and all-region honoree as a sophomore in 2017. She earned the Academic Athlete Award each of her first three years of high school. A member of the National Art Honor Society. She plans to major in nursing.

Coach Traquair on Cheatham – "Brooke is a talented attacking player who can help us press and be effective in the final third. Brooke is blessed with natural athleticism and pace. She likes to compete and help set the tone physically. She has a high ceiling and can really develop her game at this level. She is a threat in behind and can get us goals."
 
Ani Ford
MF/D | Fort Mill, S.C. (Fort Mill HS)
Ford is a three-year letterwinner heading into her senior season at Fort Mill High School. Last season as a junior, she was named the team Most Valuable Player and was an all-region honoree. As a sophomore in 2017, Ford picked up her first all-region honor. She has played her club ball for Rapids ECNL.

Ford has also earned four varsity letters in basketball and has been a team captain as a junior and senior. Away from athletics, she is an A/B Honor Roll student. She plans to major in biology.

Coach Traquair on Ford – "Ani is a versatile central player who is very comfortable in possession. She adds size and power to our team. I see her competing at central midfield and central defense. I think her composure on the ball will help us become more dominant in games. She has all the tools to become a mainstay on our team."
 
Yulia Hayes
GK | Powhatan, Va. (Banner Christian HS)
Hayes comes to Charleston after lettering four years for Banner Christian High School. As a sophomore in 2016, she was named her team's Best Defensive Player. She has also lettered in cross country and basketball and is a member of the National Honor Society. She plans to major in intelligence and security studies.

Hayes, originally from Latvia and fluent in Latvian and Russian, plays her club ball for the Richmond Strikers after playing two seasons with the Richmond Kickers.

Coach Traquair on Hayes – "Yulia is another addition to the goalkeeping ranks. She comes in with a solid technical base and distributes the ball with consistency. I am excited to see her compete with our current goalkeepers and watch her develop. She can come in and compete for minutes as a freshman. She has a top work ethic and is a natural competitor."
 
Marie Helen Le Gallo
MF | Lake Tapps, Wash. (Sumner HS)
Le Gallo comes from a very successful high school team in Sumner High School that has advanced to the state tournament 11 years running. As a senior in 2018, she was the leading goal scorer with eight goals to go along with three assists. She was voted the team captain by her teammates and earned All-Southern Puget Sound League (SPSL) first-team honors. In 2017, she was named the team's Most Inspirational Player by her teammates after scoring five goals and notching two assists.

She plays club ball for the Issaquah Gunners and the Puget Sound Premier League (PSPL) Surf Academy.

She has been an Honor Roll student all four years and is an officer in the National Honor Society. She is a Full Diploma International Baccalaureate candidate and plans to major in intelligence and security studies or criminal justice. Her mother, Christa Le Gallo, ran cross country and track and field at Notre Dame.

Coach Traquair on Le Gallo – "Marie is an excellent addition to our already strong group of central midfielders. She is small, crafty, and can handle the ball in pressure situations. She understands that we want to move the ball quickly and she has the natural ability to adapt quickly. She is mobile and likes to show for the ball at all times. I cannot wait to get to work with her and see her game grow at the college level."
 
Hayley Long
F | Exeter, N.H. (Exeter HS)
Long comes to Charleston out of New Hampshire. As a senior in 2018, she was named to the all-state second team for division 1 and earned the New Hampshire Scholar Athlete Award after scoring six goals to go along with seven assists. She has also earned a varsity letter in track and field.

Long has played her club ball for FC Stars of Massachusetts ECNL and was previously a member of the Development Academy.

A strong student in the classroom, Long is a member of her school's National Honor Society, Rho Kappa honor Society and is a High Honor Roll and All-As Honor Roll student. She plans to major in criminal justice.

Her mother, Jean Long, played field hockey for four years at Williams College. Her sister, Jessica, was a four-year soccer player at Boston University, and her brother, Hunter, is currently a redshirt freshman tight end on the Boston College football team.

Coach Traquair on Long – "Haley is another player who really adds size and power to our attack. Haley plays at the highest level in the country and has a great understanding of the game. She will be a goal-scoring threat, but can also help us be stronger without the ball. I think she can be a presence for us at set pieces, too."
 
Brianna Sikes
GK | Valrico, Fla. (Newsome HS)
Sikes comes to Charleston from Newsome High School in Valrico, Florida, but her prep soccer experience has been gained through the United State Soccer Developmental Academy. She earned invitations to the U.S. Soccer Federation National Trainer Center three times and played from 2014-16 with the U.S. CLUB Soccer PDP Cycle.

A four-year team captain within the West Florida Flames Girls club, she has been a member of the Junior and Senior Year Elite Clubs (ECNL) National League. As a junior and senior, she was a team captain for the West Florida Flames Girls DA and earned seven shutouts and boasted a 1.12 goals against average (GAA) as a junior. As a junior, she earned the JROTC National Presidential Fitness Award, awarded to the top-five female cadets, as well as the American Legion Athletic Award for Outstanding Female Athlete.

As a sophomore with the U16 team, she posted 12 shutouts and a 0.967 GAA while leading her West Florida Flames team to the ECNL National Championship Tournament. Her team finished the year ranked 16^th in the country. During her freshman season, she recorded eight shutouts and a 1.47 goals against average while leading her team to the ECNL National Championships in Seattle, Washington.

Away from soccer, she is a JROTC Raider Team member and has qualified for district and state competition. She was also selected to compete in the Best Raider Competition. A four-year High Honor Roll student, boasting a grade-point average of 4.87, she is also a member of her school's National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Rho Kappa Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society and has earned multiple letters for academics. She plans to major in military intelligence or criminal justice.

Her father, Reginald L. Sikes, class of 1988, was a three-year member of The Citadel wrestling team, and her brother, Blake, is a football player for Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Coach Traquair on Sikes – "Brianna was our first commitment for this class and it has been exciting to see her development since that day. She had many opportunities to play at the NCAA Division I level, and we were fortunate enough to have her become part of our program. She trains at a high level and already understands how we like to play. She is very comfortable with the ball at her feet and has all the attributes to be a top goalkeeper."
 
Kat Welby
D | Wake Forest, N.C. (Homeschool)
Welby has been a member of the North Carolina Football Club (NCFC) Youth ECNL while also competing in the North Carolinians for Home Education Athletic Commission (NCHEAC). As a junior in 2018, she was a starter for her NCHEAC varsity women's soccer team that won the state championship. She was an NCFC ECNL starter, won the NCFC ECNL Hamilton Sportsmanship Award and was an all-conference selection. She was named the DASH Varsity Women's Soccer MVP.

During her sophomore campaign, she helped guide her team to the United State Youth Soccer (USYS) Region III championship crown while also guiding her NCHEAC varsity girl's soccer team to the state championship crown while earning NCHEAC All-Conference honors. She was named the DASH Varsity Girl's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the USYS Women's Soccer U17 Brazil Team. She was named the Brittany Willis Memorial Scholarship Soccer Showcase Sportsmanship Award winner, was the NCHEAC Varsity Girl's Soccer State Most Valuable Player, North Carolina ODP State Player of the Year and was the Region III Player of the Year.

As a freshman she helped lead her team to claiming the USYS Region III Championship and N.C. State Championship and the NCHEAC Varsity Girls' Soccer State Championship. She was named an NCHEAC All-Conference player and was the DASH Varsity Girl's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, N.C. ODP State Player of the Year and was named to the Region III ODP Player Pool.

An All-As Honor Roll student, Welby plans to major in psychology.

Coach Traquair on Welby – "Kat comes from a very good club team and is primed to affect our team straight away. She can play left or right back and is tactically aware, technically excellent and will add good pace to our back line. I am excited to be a bit more attacking minded from that position in 2019."


For more information and updates on The Citadel soccer team, visit CitadelSports.com and follow @CitadelWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.