By Dylan Vazzano, Sports Information Coordinator

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team made its mark during Tuesday's National Letter of Intent Signing Day, adding four incoming freshmen to a Golden Eagle program that has a wealth of momentum following a second-straight historical season under TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe.

Katie Bain, Viviana Michel Lomeli, Kendall Powell and Elizabeth Tank will throw on the purple and gold in 2017, bolstering a Golden Eagle recruiting class that recently brought aboard a pair of junior transfers with the additions of Tina Marolt from Louisville and Maycie McKay out of Lipscomb. Overall, the group of six newcomers brings potential into their Tech tenures, highlighted by the chance to generate its fair share of offensive production in the upcoming years.

"We looked for specific needs in the program that would help us right away and I think we knew that it wasn't necessarily going to be a large class," Springthorpe noted on the four newest additions. "We are only bringing in four signed players during the signing period, but all four will help us in certain areas going into this season while having an impact over the next few years as well."

Katie Bain is one of three Golden Eagles in the quartet that hails right out of Tennessee, joining the TTU ranks out of Smyrna, Tenn. where she attended Stewarts Creek High School and also suited up for the Tennessee Soccer Club. At Stewarts Creek, Bain was a center midfielder, wing and center forward under coach Brooke Mayo, a former Golden Eagle who played for Tech from 2007-10.

"I've watched Katie for a while now as we've recruited her for the last couple of years," Springthorpe said. "She comes out of the Tennessee Soccer Club and is a player we recognized early on because of her athleticism and aggressiveness. She played out as a winger, but has shown she can also play as an attacking midfielder. I think we see her more as a forward out wide."

Bain racked up a whole host of accolades in high school, earning first team All-District, first team All-Area and District Midfielder of the Year recognition. Off the pitch, she has excelled as Bain is a current valedictorian candidate with a chance to graduate with Summa Cum Laude honors, a distinction reserved for a 4.0 GPA.

"Katie has good pace, and again, we like her aggressiveness in wanting to go to goal," Springthorpe claimed. "She can pressure players defensively when needed and seemed to really love what she saw here at Tennessee Tech. Katie is a really good fit in regards to the type of player we want in our program and should provide us with good, solid minutes as a winger."

Viviana Michel Lomeli has displayed a great deal of offensive promise, coming to Tech out of Jalisco, Mexico where she has excelled on the international stage. Playing in the Mexican National Olympics with her state team Jalisco, Michel Lomeli scored four goals in four matches to guide her team to the gold medal.

"We had the chance to make contact with Viviana and see her play in some video. We think she's exactly the type of player we want to come in here and help us score goals," Springthorpe said. "She's played a little bit internationally with some time for the U-20's and plays for a good club team. Viviana will bring a certain level of understanding of the game, athleticism and the ability to get goal scoring opportunities."

With her club team Chivas, Michel Lomeli proved to be a force to be reckoned with for a squad that took home the Cordica League championship twice with her in the mix, in addition to winning the National Scotiabank Tournament where Michel Lomeli was the top scorer in the tournament with eight goals in four matches.  

"We believe Viviana will be the type of player who will come in right away and give us the chance to be more aggressive around the goal and hopefully score more goals," Springthorpe continued. "Our team has been very defensive minded and although we have been better in the attack over the last couple of years, we would still love the opportunity to find more goals and we think Viviana can help us there."

Kendall Powell will stay local with her commitment to TTU after spending the last four years at Cookeville High School. A dynamic goal scorer throughout high school, Powell scorched the back of the net 77 times during her career, the most on both the girls and boys teams at CHS. The 5-foot-7 incoming freshman also notched 54 assists in her four years with the Cavaliers.  

"Kendall's from Cookeville and has also played with the local Cookeville club, where our assistant coach Corey [Boyd] has been involved with that club and knows her quite well," Springthorpe said. "We've followed Kendall for a number of years now and I think we are pretty lucky to have a player of that caliber sign with us and stay at home. Having a local player stay here at Tennessee Tech is a great thing for our program as well as for Kendall and her family and friends."

Armed with a drove of overwhelming high school numbers, Powell also registered a slew of impressive honors at CHS. As a senior, she took home All-State, TSWA All-State, and overall Team MVP distinction, while also earning a spot in the Kicks Country Hall of Fame. As a junior, Powell mirrored similar on-field achievements with another selection to the All-State and TSWA All-State teams.

"Kendall can play multiple attacking positions," Springthorpe said in regards to Powell's versatility. "She'll probably play as a target forward for us or an attacking midfielder, and if needed, she could fill a role as a holding midfielder, but we recruited her more for the attacking side of things. With her club she scored a lot of goals and brings size, athleticism and a great understanding of the game. I think she will fit in really well with the style we play."

Elizabeth Tank rounds out the Golden Eagle signing class, joining the purple and gold out of Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. A three-year letter winner, Tank tallied 26 goals and 14 assists throughout her high school career, highlighted by a stellar senior campaign that saw her find the back of the net 14 times, collecting nine assists as well.

"Elizabeth also comes from the Tennessee Soccer Club and has visited Tennessee Tech a few times," Springthorpe said on the recruitment of Tank. "She has spent time around the program and came to our ID Camp, which was really the first time we had the chance to see her play. Elizabeth's a good, solid player who will develop over time, and initially, she should help us on the defensive side of things."

A two-time first-team All-District winner, Tank was also the team captain for Central Magnet School from 2015-16 and was the team MVP in 2016. While at the Tennessee Soccer Club, the Murfreesboro native showed her ability to be versatile.  

"Elizabeth played multiple positions for her club team, including playing out wide in the back," Springthorpe said. "I think we probably see her more as a holding midfielder. She is strong in the tackle and understands the game pretty well. We expect Elizabeth to give us good minutes and have a good role on the team."

Already in the midst of spring drills with an eye on the upcoming season, the Golden Eagles are excited about what the future holds with these latest additions.

"I'm happy about the four we are bringing in," Springthorpe concluded. "They all have a particular role on our team and hopefully they can help us right away in our goal of competing for a conference championship."

Photo by Jim Dillon