Rutgers Lacrosse Announces 2009 Recruiting Class
Dec 15 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team signed seven players to National Letters of Intent, head coach Laura Brand-Sias announced Wednesday. Stephanie Anderson (Wading River, N.Y.), Aimee Eileen Chotikul (Baltimore, Md.), Stephanie Dickson (Smithtown, N.Y.), Lindsay Harris (Ijamsville, Md.), Lily Kalata (Nesconset, N.Y.), Amanda Trendell (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Rachel Welch (Medford, N.J.) all plan to suit up for the Scarlet Knights in 2010.
“We were able to accomplish many of our program goals with this class,” said Brand-Sias. “Not only were we able to recruit first class athletes, but we have added to the quality of our program in both character and academics. These young women will hit the ground running when they arrive ‘On the Banks’ and I am confident they will make this program proud.”
Anderson, a midfielder at Shoreham Wading River High School in Wading River, N.Y., will be entering her senior year as a captain of the reigning New York State Champions. She was ranked eighth in the nation as a Top Rising Senior by Inside Lacrosse magazine after recording 51 goals and 16 assists her junior year. Her experience as a midfielder on such a talented team will be noticed immediately on the field in 2010. Her sister Kristen is currently a sophomore attacker for the Scarlet Knights.
Anderson was named to the New York Team1 at the US Lacrosse National Tournament in 2008. She was also a finalist for the Heather Leigh Albert Award, given to the top high school player in the country. She won the gold medal with the 2008 Empire State Team along with fellow incoming freshman Lily Kalata.
On top of Anderson’s success on the lacrosse field, she is also an All-League performer on the varsity cross-country team, as well as a varsity winter track star. Her senior leadership has earned her the role as captain of each team.
Chotikul, one of two goalies in the class, is currently a captain for the women’s lacrosse team at Baltimore Lutheran School in Towson, Md. She has been a starter since her freshman campaign and has 551 saves in three years. She is a two-time Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) All-Conference team honoree and a two-time team MVP. She led her squad to three consecutive IAAM conference championship games, winning in 2006 and 2007.
The Baltimore, Md. native is also the starting goalkeeper for the boys varsity soccer team at Baltimore Lutheran. She posted a 0.78 goals-against average her junior year and is the only female to be named Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) conference Athlete of the Week. She earned MIAA All-Conference team honors in 2008.
Chotikul is also a goalkeeper and a returning captain for the indoor soccer team. She earned four consecutive team MVP honors and is a four-time IAAM Indoor Soccer All-Conference team honoree. She is the only athlete to achieve back-to-back championships in both the MIAA and the IAAM conferences, as well as the only athlete in school history to be part of five championship teams.
Dickson, a four-year varsity starter at Smithtown High School West in Smithtown, N.Y., will be playing attack/midfield for the Scarlet Knights. She was All-League and All-County and has been a member of the Long Island Yellow Jackets for five years. She was also a member of the U.S. National School girls team.
Dickson competed in cross country and was named team MVP after leading her team to an undefeated season and the league championship. Her cross country squad was recently named the top Scholar Athlete Team in New York State and will receive awards from the state in January. She is also a four-year member of the winter track squad, receiving All-League and first-place Suffolk county honors. She was named to the New York State Scholar-Athlete team.
Harris currently attends Urbana High School in Urbana, Md., where she is a four-year starter for the women’s lacrosse team. She was named Defensive MVP after a junior season that saw her lead the team with 42 groundballs and 47 draw controls. She received All-Country honors the previous three seasons and looks to continue the trend this year. She is also a three-time Monocacy Valley Athletic League (MVAL) post-season award winner, including two Second Team honors.
The Ijamsville, Md. native is a Maryland Distinguished Scholar and has received the Scholar Athlete award by Minds in Motions the past three seasons. Currently, she is Treasurer of her Senior Class and a member of the National Honor Society.
Kalata, the other goalkeeper in the recruiting class, is currently finishing up her senior season at Smithtown East High School in St. James, N.Y. She won a gold medal along with fellow incoming freshman Stephanie Anderson as a part of the Long Island Empire Lacrosse team, and has played with Long Island Express Lacrosse for four years. Her sophomore year she received All-League honors, and her junior season she received All-County honors.
The Nesconset, N.Y. native also participated in field hockey and was Team MVP her junior season. After her senior campaign she earned All-State, All-County and All-Tournament honors and was as a member of the Newsday All-Long Island team.
Trendell is currently wrapping up her senior year at Yorktown High School in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. The four-year varsity lacrosse athlete averaged 1.9 points per game her junior season while earning All-League and All-Section honors. She played on the John Hopkins and Cornell All-Star teams in 2007 and was member of the New York State Team 3 at the US National Tournament.
She was also a four-year varsity soccer starter, receiving All-League Honorable Mention her junior campaign, and played varsity basketball for one season. Trendell is a member of the National Honor Society and won the Tinted Bronze Medal award in 2007. She is a three-time Scholar-Athlete honoree for basketball, lacrosse and soccer.
Welch is a four-year member of the varsity lacrosse team at Shawnee High School in Medford, N.J. Through three seasons she has accumulated 40 goals, 21 assists, 40 checks, 112 groundballs, 84 caused turnovers and 10 draw controls. She is a two-time Second Team All-Conference honoree and the team captain for her final campaign. Her team finished 20-2 her sophomore year and was ranked second in New Jersey and 15th nationally, and 20-1 her junior season and ranked second in New Jersey and seventh nationally. Shawnee is the two-time defending Olympic Division champions.
The Medford, N.J. native has played for the South Jersey Select club team for the past two years and is a two-time member of the Upper Atlantic US Lacrosse Women’s Division National Tournament (WDNT) team, a showcase for the best post-collegiate and club women's lacrosse players.
Welch was also a four-year member of the varsity soccer team and a two-time First Team All-Olympic Conference. She was a team captain her senior year and was named Second Team All-South Jersey. Welch finished her career with 15 goals and eight assists from the midfield position. She is also the Senior Class Vice President and a member of the Student Council and the Senior Class Executive Homeroom.
