Hoosiers Ink Four in 2008 Signing Class

3/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

March 10, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana field hockey team will welcome four new players to the program for the 2008 season head coach Amy Robertson announced on Thursday. The four new signees include Morgan Fleetwood (Freeburg, Pa.), Kristy McFadden (Marlton, N.J.), Becky Pany (Allentown, Pa.) and Jaclyn Zamudio (Los Gatos, Calif.).

Fleetwood scored a school record 47 goals this past season at the forward position for Selinsgrove High School and was named the team's most valuable player. She also earned rookie of the year honors her freshman season and was given the coach's award her sophomore campaign. She led Selinsgrove to league championships in each of the last three years and a final four appearance in 2006. The senior captain was a two-time first team all-state and all league selection in addition to being named the Reading Player of the Year and Daily Item Player of the Year following her senior season. In addition to field hockey, Fleetwood also earned four letters in track and field and was named track and field MVP after qualifying for the state meet in the 4x400 relay and the 200 meters last year.

Fleetwood on IU:
"I just fell in love with the campus," Fleetwood said, "and the coaches and players were the best. I definitely felt like everything clicked when I came on my visit and I can't wait to start my career as a Hoosier."

Indiana head coach Amy Robertson
"Morgan has all the physical tools and the right mentality to make an immediate impact as an attacking midfielder," Robertson said. "She plays with a display of power, speed, find the open pass and she can finish with a rocket shot from the top of the circle. On the defensive side, Morgan will work hard to get back on defense and can close down any player with her speed and good timing on tackles. Morgan is a scoring machine, breaking U.S. National team member Keli Smith's season goal scoring record this past season with 47 goals. We anticipate that Morgan will help ease the scoring woes that we experienced last year by either scoring herself or helping to set up our speedy and talented forward line."

"Morgan possesses a lot of great qualities that come from her being brought up in a rural setting," Robertson continued, "such as a great work ethic, discipline, and great team values. She has an unbelievably high ceiling of potential and has the ability to follow in the footsteps of some of the Pennsylvania girls that have come before her here at IU, like Kayla Bashore, Lydia Schrott and Morgan Miller."

McFadden, a midfielder, attends Cherokee High School and has earned first team all-county and all-Group 4 accolades for head coach Sharon Tinucci. She has participated in the National Futures tournament for six years and won a silver medal at the Junior Olympics in 2006. Additionally, she has been a part of Futures Elite the past two years and the Olympic Development Select in 2007.

McFadden on IU:
"The coaches are great," McFadden said, "and the team really has a lot of fun together and I am looking forward to being a part of the team next year."

Indiana head coach Amy Robertson
"Kristy is a player on the rise and has gotten better every time I've watched her," Robertson said. "She has some great natural qualities such as speed, hard work ethic and she can also run forever. She will either contribute on our forward line or could be developed into an attacking back. Kristy is our first incoming player from New Jersey, a state loaded with field hockey talent. I have been watching Kristy as a recruit for a long time and she has continued to grow in her strength of play and understanding of the game. She is the kind of recruit that I love to find because she has so much potential and will surpass the talent of those players who have been showered with too much recognition too soon.

"I expect Kristy to make an impact in raising the tempo of our game play," Robertson went on to say, "and will challenge for time on the forward line in her first year. In general, Kristy has a fantastic attitude and will be fun to coach and watch grow into a top player at IU and in the Big Ten Conference."

Pany was a four-year starter in goal for Parkland High School and was a team captain her senior year. Each year she posted a save percentage of over 86 percent and made over 50 saves during the playoffs as she led her team to a semi-final birth for the second time in her career. She also led her team to a pool title at the 2006 National Field Hockey Festival and has earned academic all-state honors during her high school career.

Pany on IU:
"The entire atmosphere at Indiana was one that made me feel like I belonged there. The entire field hockey program has a uniqueness to it that you can't experience anywhere else and I am honored to be a part of the Hoosier field hockey family."

Indiana head coach Amy Robertson
"Becky will step right in and compete for playing time in goal," Robertson said. "With the loss of both our goalkeepers from last year, it was really important to find a prospect that possessed the right attitude and mentality to come in right away and do everything within her power to grow, learn and develop into a top collegiate goalkeeper. Becky's dedication is already evident as she has already started to train to prepare herself for preseason and has asked us to give her specific guidance on what she could be doing to better her position. In Becky's free time if she is not playing then she is helping to coach one of the youth teams at her school or for her club team. Another one of her strengths is that she is very intelligent and will have a very quick learning curve. She possesses the kind of passion, dedication and work ethic that will contribute to getting IU back in the top 10 and provide our program with another true team player. I am really looking forward to working with Becky."

Zamudio played both forward and midfield for Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., where she led the team to the best record in school history by posting a 17-0-4 mark in 2006. She led her team to league and sectional titles that season in addition to be being selected to the Junior Olympics team. As a senior, Archbishop Mitty finished third in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton division and was Central Coast Sectional semi-finalists while capturing the Willow Glen Tournament championship earlier in the year. An honor roll student, Zamudio also picked up two letters in soccer where she was a starting forward and won two league and sectional titles.

Zamudio on IU:
"Indiana had the perfect mix of academics, team chemistry and a dynamic coaching staff," Zamudio said. "The college atmosphere was the best and I knew IU was the right place for me."

Indiana head coach Amy Robertson
"Jackie first caught my eye in a videotape that she sent to us. I watched her just blow by the competition and go after it every minute on the field. I have been looking for players who possess the intangibles such as passion, commitment and the right attitude and she is the whole package. Jackie will have an immediate impact on the tempo of practice. She never does anything at half-speed as she puts out so much effort and is acutely dynamic and aggressive.

"Jaclyn is also extremely coachable," Robertson continued, "and has all the right stuff to develop her into a great IU field hockey player. She will play a position for IU that requires speed and fearlessness, whether it is an attacking midfielder or forward or even an attacking back. The great thing is that she has a blue-collar mentality and will do whatever it takes to be successful."