Feb. 27, 2009

By Brett Maikowski, Soccer Contact

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State soccer head coach Heather Nelson has announced the signings of six players to National Letters of Intent for next season. Among the signees include Bobbi Jo Schlick, Courtney Luehmann, Brigette Schuppan, Kristen Starkey, Hayley Abbott, and Ali Bauer.

Bobbi Jo Schlick has competed on the Jackson High School and Southeast Missouri Soccer Club teams as a forward. Last season, she guided her team to an 18-3 record, while recording 16 goals on the year with six of them being game winners. She also added seven assists to give her a total of 39 points overall.

Along with leading her team to the sectional round of the state playoffs her junior season, Schlick has received several accolades during her career. Among them include Offensive Player of the Year for her team, Class 2 First Team All-State honors, and Southeast Missouri's Player of the Year.

Schlick was coached by former Redhawks great Julie Wunderlich. "I am so excited for her to go there because I went there," said Wunderlich. "It's awesome as a coach to watch some of my players play at the same school that I played at. I think she has real potential to make an impact next year at SEMO."

Courtney Luehmann has also competed on the Southeast Missouri Soccer Club Sweepers for the past seven years as a captain center midfielder and back. In the past four years, she has recorded 32 goals and 15 assists, while guiding the Sweepers to a 62-10-4 record.

Her high school soccer career was played at Cape Notre Dame where she played on the varsity team for the past two seasons. While at Notre Dame, Courtney notched 14 goals and nine assists as a center midfielder. She has also received many accolades including being recognized as an All-Region, All-District, and All-Conference soccer player.

Brigette Schuppan played varsity soccer all four years she attended Nerinx Hall High School and earned many honors her junior and senior years. In her junior year season, she was an All-Conference Honorable Mention, had three goals, including two game winners, and notched 13 assists. In her final season, Schuppan earned a spot on the Second Team All-Conference. Also in both 2007 and 2008, the varsity team won the MWAA District Championship.

Kristen Starkey has been the starting goalie for St. Dominic since her freshman year. She has earned All-Conference Goalie of the Year accolades, while leading her team to the State Championship in 2007 and helping them finish third in 2008. Starkey has also played for the St. Louis Soccer Club and earned state championships for the team as well. Other honors include being named the Suburban Journal Athlete of the Week, which is sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hayley Abbott comes to Southeast from Narooma, Australia after spending three years at the NSW Institute of Sport. She has been on three International tours with the Australian School Girls team to UK, Ireland, Japan, and South Korea. During that time, Abbott was selected as Captain and Player of the Tour for two of those years. She also played for the Hills Sports High School team that won the State Championship for three consecutive years. Finally, Abbott was presented with the highest NSW State School Sports Award in 2007 for recognition of Outstanding State and National Representation in Women's soccer.

Ali Bauer joins the Redhawks from St. Charles, Mo. as a Midfielder and Forward. While at St. Dominic, she earned AAA Conference First Team, Conference Player of the Year, and First Team All-State honors all in the 2007-2008 season. Also in the last two years, she has been on the first and third All Metro teams and has finished first and third in state in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Last season, she finished with 17 goals, including five game winners, and 10 assists. Bauer was also named the Suburban Journal's 2008 Athlete of the Year.