By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team and head coach Steve Springthorpe announce the addition of two new players to join the Golden Eagle mix for the 2019 campaign.
Incoming freshmen Carme Peirau Gabarell and Eva Toler are will be the latest to throw on the purple and gold, bolstering an already sizeable newcomer group of 11 that crossed the t's and dotted the i's during November's National Letter of Intent Signing Day, the largest class in the Springthorpe era.
Peirau Gabarell, an international addition out of Catalonia, Spain, comes to Cookeville with a sturdy resume of club-soccer involvement under her belt behind over a decade's worth of experience. Peirau Gabarell most recently suited up for Club Futbol Pardinyes, a squad that competes in the Segona Divisio Nacional, the second-best women's category in all of Spain. Prior to that, the incoming TTU freshman was a fixture for the club Seccio Esportiva AEM, a high-level squad that played in the best category in Catalonia and at the time the second best in all of Spain.
"Carme is a great addition for us and we are certainly excited to see what she can bring to our program," Tech head coach Steve Springthorpe said, on his club's latest addition. "She'll probably play in the midfield for us. Recently we have seen her playing as a defensive midfielder, but I do think she is a good enough player to play multiple positions. We are confident in Carme's technical abilities that have been developed throughout playing at a high level over in Spain. We know she will bring a firm understanding of the game and how we want to play and we have an expectation that Carme will come in and help our team from the get go."
Toler, a 5-foot-6 incoming freshman out of East Tennessee, enters the Golden Eagle group after enjoying an impressive high-school career at Christian Academy of Knoxville. Twice named an All-State and an All-Region player, Toler also collected three separate All-District accolades and took home the 2018 District Offensive Player of the Year award. The Knoxville native racked up 105 career goals and 37 career assists throughout her high-school tenure, scoring at least 30 goals in each of her final three seasons.
"We've actually recruited Eva for a few years now, she came to a couple of ID camps and currently plays for a club team that has a couple of other players that have signed with us," Springthorpe noted. "Eva is a great academic student who wanted to see if Tennessee Tech was the right fit and we are glad that she made the decision to become a Golden Eagle. Eva is another very solid player that over time will give us some big minutes and be an asset to our program. We are also excited at the fact that she is from the state of Tennessee, because we are always looking to recruit locally and bring players in from areas within the state."
Off the pitch, Toler's achievements are just as noteworthy with a series of academic accomplishments in her back pocket. A member of the National Honor Society, Toler is also a two-time Integrity Award winner and an Academic Achievers Award winner, an honor reserved for finishing top five in her class.