The Pride Women have added some exciting young talent to their squad with the additions of three US and one Canadian U-20 national team players. Maddie Elliston, Michaela Abam and Ally Watt, all members of the US U20 national team, and Maryse Bard-Martel a member of the Canadian U20 national team will be joining Pride for the 2015 season.
Elliston, Watt and Abam were all included in the US U-20 squad that traveled to Spain for the La Manga Tournament in March. The US won all three games at the tournament beating Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Elliston is currently playing her college soccer at Penn State where she teamed up with Pride goalkeeper Brit Eckerstrom. She quickly became a key member of the Penn State defense, starting all 24 games as a freshman. She added two assists and ended the season with All-Big Ten Freshmen Team honors. Elliston was also named 6th in the Women’s Freshman Top-100 list.
Michaela Abam plays her soccer at West Virginia University where she was named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year. As a freshman, she played in all 22 games and led her teams’ offense with 8 goals and 16 points. Abam’s impressive first season at West Virginia earned her NSCAA All-Central Region Second Team honors and 5th place in the Women’s Freshman Top- 100 list.
Ally Watt is a Colorado Springs local who grew up playing for Pride Soccer Club. She scored both goals in the U-20’s win over Sweden at the La Manga Tournament on March 9th and has committed to play soccer for Texas A&M next fall. The high school senior has impressed on the soccer field and on the track, winning the 100 and 200-meter state crown as a freshman and junior. Watt was ranked No. 34 in the 2015 IMG Academy Top 150 ranking.
Maryse Bard-Martel represented Canada at the 2012 U17 World Cup in Azerbaijan and is now a member of the U20 National team. Maryse plays her college soccer at University of Memphis and was a member of the Ottawa W-League program last year.
“To have four top young prospects of this caliber is exciting. In the year of the Women’s World Cup it will be great for our young fans to be able to associate these players with their respective National Team programs” said Head Coach Sian Hudson.
To keep up with all the news about your Colorado Pride Women check out pridewleague.com and like us on Facebook.