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Horned Frogs sign five to National Letters of Intent
Feb. 6, 2008 FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU head soccer coach Dan Abdalla announced Wednesday a list of five student-athletes that have signed National Letters of Intent to attend TCU. The talented crop of newcomers will begin competition at the start of the 2008 season.
Among the five signees are Metroplex natives Lindsay Holmes, a defender/midfielder from Dallas and Alex Mechalske, a defender/midfielder from Fort Worth. Joining them is a trio of high schoolers from California, Illinois and Oklahoma. Alex Matthews is a midfielder from Stockton, Calif., while Katie Runyon is a midfielder from Quincy, Ill. Rounding out the class is Jordan Calhoun a forward who hails from Norman, Okla. "The group as a whole will give us an immediate punch with five players that will be able to come in and compete for playing time right away," said head coach Dan Abdalla. "They will help with our depth and are all players that I love because they fit so well with what our needs are. This group really completes what we are trying to do with our program. They all have great character and are good students." Calhoun comes to TCU after earning all-district and all-conference honors in 2007 for Norman North High School. A three-time all-conference and all-district selection, the Oklahoma native is a three-time letterwinner and plays club soccer for seven-time state champion ESC 90 Black. With ESC 90 Black, she was a two-time national runner-up and regional runner-up. Calhoun has been a Region III ODP team member and played club ball with current Horned Frogs Chelsea Cody, Kaylie Garcia and Kelsey Walters. "Jordan is definitely a player that is going to bring a lot to our offense next fall. She is a proven goal scorer and is exceptionally quick. She will look to compete up top right away and is one of the top strikers in the country coming out. She is the real deal and will definitely be a huge impact kid for us," said Abdalla. Mechalske has been a four-year letterwinner at Nolan Catholic High School. She is a three-time first-team all-state selection and was named TAPPS Defender of the Year in 2007. Following her junior season, Mechalske was named to the Dallas Morning News All-Area Super Team. She is also a three-time all-district selection and was named to the Fort Worth Star Telegram All-Area Super Team for three-straight years. Mechalske led Nolan Catholic to three state runner-up finishes and was named to the all-tournament squad. She also excelled on the golf course where she was a four-time all-district selection and led the Vikings to the 2007 state championship. The Fort Worth native plays club ball for the Dallas Sting Soccer Club. With the Sting, she was a state cup finalist and a regional championship qualifier. Mechalske was also honored with the State Cup Fair Player Award. Academically, she was an academic all-state selection and was named the Nolan Catholic Female Athlete of the Year twice. "Alex is one of the most creative players on the ball that I have ever seen. She is a kid that has fun playing the game and will help us in the back and out wide. She is the top player coming out of Tarrant County this year and is a kid that bleeds TCU purple," said Abdalla. Holmes comes to TCU following a standout career at Plano West Senior High School. She was a second-team all-district selection as a sophomore and junior before leading Plano West to the 2007 UIL Class 5A state championship her junior season. Holmes plays club soccer for Texas Spirit 90 and has been team captain for four straight years. "Lindsay is a Plano native who is a great athlete. She has a lot of potential to keep getting better and will be able to help us in a number of spots. She is very good when she has space in front of her and we feel that she will be very explosive attacking from an outside back position. A three-time all-conference performer at Quincy Senior High School, Runyon will don the Purple and White after leading Quincy in scoring and being named to the all-sectional squad in 2007. She has helped Quincy post back-to-back conference championships and a regional championship performance during her time as a Blue Devil. She plays club ball for Missouri Premier and led them to a runner-up finish in the state championship. Overall, she earned four letters in soccer and one in tennis during her time at Quincy High School. "Katie is a kid that came to camp this past summer and made an impact on our staff. She will play the wide midfield position for us. She is a competitive workhorse. Katie is going to get much better in the college game and she has the intangibles that we definitely want in our program," said Abdalla. Heading into her senior season at Lincoln High School, Matthews is a two-time all-conference performer who recently was a member of the 2008 National Y League ODP Camp which is made up of the top US players in the USL Super Y-League. She helped lead Lincoln to an undefeated San Joaquin Athletic Association championship in 2006 and first-place league finish her junior season. Matthews brings a wealth of club experience with her to Fort Worth after playing for the California Cougars, PWSA Pride of Lions 89 and California Rush. Also an exceptional tennis player, Matthews has suffered only four losses in doubles league play at Lincoln, while collecting 32 doubles wins since 2005. "Alex is a player that is very comfortable on the ball. She is very creative and prefers to play more of a possession game. She just got called into US Club Soccer's National Camp which is giving her a lot of top level experience," said Abdalla. In 2007, TCU shutout a top-25 ranked opponent, appeared on national television for the first time in program history and finished with the most win's overall and in conference play under head coach Dan Abdalla.
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