The CWU women’s soccer team has signed 14 new players.

Head coach Michael Farrand is excited for the new incoming teammates.

“This is a big class, and there is a lot of talent in the class,” Farrand said.

Farrand also echoed that some of the incoming freshman might have a chance to play right away.

“The goalkeeper [Emily Thomson] we pulled out of Canada is pretty good,” Farrand said. “I think she is going to be able to compete right away for us.”

Emily Thomson is a goalkeeper coming in from Edmonton, Alberta, where she attended O’Brien Catholic High School. In 2014, Thomson won gold in the Remand Pacific Cup. In 2015, she helped lead her team to a silver medal at Schwan’s USA Cup, also winning a gold in the Alberta Summer Games.

Midfielder Peyton Fullner is from Lynden, Washington. She attended Lynden High School and led them to their first ever state appearance. In 2015 she got the WSSA All-State 2A honorable mention honors. In 2016 she got WSSA All-State 2A second team honors, All-Northwest Conference First Team Honors and also a 2016 WIAA Athlete of the Week honors.

“She’s really tough, [a] physical player, is going to be able to do well for us,” Farrand said.

This recruiting class will have an opportunity to have an impact on the team’s season. “We have more than a few girls in there, I think, who are going to show up and have an impact on us.”

This will also help them compete moving forward.

“Overall the depth and the quality of the class is actually really good, which is going to give us the chance to compete with each other and that’s what we’re built on,” Farrand said.

The Wildcats are looking to get in gear and have a better year than last.

“We’re excited for the year, we did some things this last year that hadn’t been done in history of Central soccer,” Farrand said. “We’re still chasing the GNAC championship, so that’s really our goal to win a GNAC championship.”