In his first full recruiting season as Ashland University’s women’s soccer coach, Glenn Francis signed nine newcomers to the program for the 2011 fall season.

Following is the information on the nine recruits committed to Ashland University.

Kathleen Demaree (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Northwest) – Demaree holds a number of offensive school records at Northwest High School, where she was a three-time scholar-athlete.

She scored 44 goals in her prep career and holds the single-game school record with six. In her senior season, she found the back of the net 18 times, setting another school record.

The striker was an All-Northeastern Buckeye Conference and All-Stark County first team performer in her final two years with the Indians. She was the Northeastern Buckeye Conference Player of the Year in her junior season and was her team’s MVP as a junior and senior.

Kelsey Dropsey (Jeromesville, Ohio/Hillsdale) – Dropsey earned 12 varsity athletic letters at nearby Hillsdale High School, including four each in soccer, basketball and softball. In her junior season, Dropsey was named to the All-Ohio second team and was a first team All-Ohio selection as a senior. She was a three-time first team all-district player and was named the Wayne County Athletic League Player of the Year three times. Dropsey was her team’s captain as a senior and scored 25 goals while being named the Ashland Times-Gazette Player of the Year.

Lexi Gruich (Akron, Ohio/Copley) – Gruich was a four-time letter winner in soccer at Copley High School, where she was a four-time winner of the Scholar-Athlete Award.

As a captain in her senior season, Gruich was named to the All-Suburban League first team and was named second team all-district.

She was also given the Sportsmanship Award as voted on by her team. Gruich was named to the All-Suburban League second team in her junior season and was an honorable mention choice as a sophomore. She also spent six seasons playing for the Pennine United club team, which was an OYSAN State Cup finalist.

Amanda Johns (Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic) – Johns earned eight varsity letters at Charleston Catholic High School, including four in soccer and four in track. She was a two-time AA-A All-West Virginia team selection and was named to the honorable mention list in her sophomore season.

She was also named to the Sports Writers’ All-West Virginia team in her junior and senior seasons. The forward scored 64 goals in her collegiate career for CCHS, which won three straight AA-A state championships with Johns on the squad. She captained the team in her senior season. In her junior season, she scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of the regional championship game to send her team to the state championship. Johns played club soccer for eight seasons. She plans on majoring in exercise physiology at Ashland University.

Brooke Mowrer (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) – Mowrer was prepped at nearby Northwestern High School in West Salem, Ohio. She earned 11 varsity letters in her high school career, including four in soccer, four in track and three in basketball. In soccer, she was a three-time first team all-conference performer and was named to the all-district team twice. In her senior season, Mowrer was named to the All-Ohio second team after scoring 13 goals and collecting seven assists. She was a three-time first team member of the Tri-County Coaches Association squad. A three-year captain defender, Mowrer was a two-time team MVP and was selected to the Ashland Times-Gazette and Wooster Daily Record first teams three times.

Anna Rutkousky (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) – Rutkousky played her prep career at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati. In her senior season, the MNDHS team finished with the best record in the history of the program.

Rutkousky played every field position in high school. She also spent time playing club soccer with the Loveland Chargers, Lakota United and most recently, Ohio Elite.

Megan Veranese (Willoughby, Ohio/Willoughby South) – Varanese was a four-year letter winner and starter at Willoughby South High School.

The Rebels won the Premier Athletic Confererence in her first three seasons. She was a first team All-PAC selection in her senior season and was named to the conference’s honorable mention list twice.

Varanese was an All-Greater Cleveland honorable mention choice in 2009. She also played for the Akron Metro Premier team on the club level.

Kaylie West (Copley, Ohio/Copley) – West was a four-year letter winner in soccer at Copley High School. She was named second team All-Ohio, first team all-district and first team All-Suburban League in her senior season.

She was also the Indians’ team MVP and a Suburban League Scholar Athlete. As a junior, West was named to the All-Suburban League second team and was the team MVP.

The midfielder/defender played for the Pennine United club team for the last two years. Prior to that, she was a member of Cleveland FC.

Megan Zealer (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) – Zealer prepped at Teays Valley High School in Ashville, Ohio. She was named the Mid-State League Player of the Year and was a four-time selection to the MSL first team.

She was also a four-time pick to the All-Central District third team and was her team’s MVP four times. Zealer holds her school’s record for the most goals scored.