By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team made its mark on National Letter of Intent Signing Day, as head coach Steve Springthorpe and the Golden Eagles announced the addition of Maggie Conrad to its 2021 class.
Conrad, a 5-foot-7 goalkeeper out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will throw on the purple and gold as an incoming freshman in the fall of 2021.
"We are thrilled that Maggie has made her choice to attend Tennessee Tech and play for our team in 2021," Tech head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "As one can imagine, recruiting during this pandemic has been a challenge. It's certainly had an impact on us as coaches, but it's also played a role for the recruits that are making important decisions on their future."
A two-sport athlete that also suited up in softball while at Xavier High School in her native Cedar Rapids, Conrad secured a series of significant honors throughout her time between the pipes. A Class 2A All-Tournament Team member, Conrad was also named a Second Team All-State player, as well as a Second Team All-Metro and Second Team All-Conference selection.
Serving as her school's varsity starting goalkeeper as a freshman, Conrad carded three shutouts and a 0.868 save percentage, making 123 saves in the process. In 29 starts as a sophomore, the 5-foot-7 goalkeeper tallied nine shutouts, 167 stops and a 0.884 save percentage, leading her team to a Class 2A Iowa state championship that saw Conrad allow just one goal and pick up two shutouts during the title-winning run.
Conrad's junior campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19 and her senior season is set to take place in the spring of 2021.
"Maggie is a goalkeeper that will have the opportunity to battle for a starting position in 2021," Springthorpe claimed. "With the graduation of Isabelle Austin after this spring season, we were looking for another keeper who could come in and potentially lead our defensive group for years to come. Maggie has the work ethic that is needed to excel at this level. Our goalkeeper coach Rachel [Fulkerson] has had the opportunity to build a strong bond with Maggie and believes she will be a terrific student-athlete in our program. Maggie is a stellar student, a fantastic person and is an all-around, quality-character individual. She will fit in well within our program and we look forward to her joining the team next August."
Along with her strong goalkeeper prowess in high school, Conrad excelled with her club team, VSA/FC United, helping lead her squad to a pair of Iowa State Cup titles in 2018 and 2019. The Cedar Rapids native was also part of the Iowa Olympic Develop Program team in 2017 and 2018.
Academically, Conrad has been a Distinguished Honor Roll member every semester, has been a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the Spanish Honor Society.
