ATLANTA – The Georgia State women's soccer team announced the signing of eight new players to National Letters of Intent Wednesday as part of head coach Derek Leader and his staff's second signing class. Six freshmen and two transfers make up the 2014 signing class for the Panthers.

“We are thrilled to welcome these student-athletes to Georgia State and into our GSU soccer family,” head coach Derek Leader said. “We know that these players have the ability to make an impact right away and we cannot wait to get them on the field with our existing players.”

2014 Signing Class	Name	Club	High School
	Taina Anglade	Concorde Fire Coach Brian Moore	Cambridge HS Coach Alex Thon
	Rebecca Copeland	BUSA '96 Coach Andrew Brower Coach Joel Person	Virgil I. Grissom HS Coach Randy Lillavois
	Caitlin O'Connor	Atlanta Fire United Coach Mark Mackain	Milton HS Coach Phil Broome (Transfer from Indiana)
	Leslie Ramirez	Real So. Cal. Coach Kristy Walker	El Camino Real Charter HS Coach Eric Choi
	Kylie Ruffule	Concorde Fire Coach Brian Moore	Union Grove HS Coach Brian Hicks
	Christa Strickland	West Ga. Futbol Club Coaches Chris Mahaffey	Whitewater HS Coach Randy Hayes (Transfer from Memphis)
	Anastasia Swift	IMG Academy Coach Kelvin Jones	IMG Academy Coach Kelvin Jones
	Kenzie Winters	Concorde Fire Coach Brian Moore	Whitewater HS Coach Randy Hayes

Taina Anglade

Played forward and right midfielder on inaugural team at Cambridge High School in Milton, Ga. … Lettered three years at Alpharetta High School from 2010-12 … Played three years of club soccer for Concorde Fire under coach Brian Moore … Member of Georgia ODP team in 2012 and 2013 … Part of the talented and gifted program while also taking AP and honors courses, at Cambridge and Alpharetta High Schools.

Rebecca Copeland

Four-year letterwinner at Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville, Ala. … Played forward, outside midfielder and outside back … Two-time all-state selection and member of the Alabama state all-star team in 2013 … Three-time Huntsville Times Elite first-team honoree … Named TopDrawerSoccer.com top-10 player to watch in the South … Chosen as team captain for the 2014 season … Led team in goals and assists in 2013 after leading team in assists in 2012 … Member of the Alabama ODP team for five years … Part of the USYS Olympic Development Program Region-III team for the past three years and won two USYS Alabama DI state championships in 2011 and 2012 … One of 11 players elected to the 2013 USYS Thanksgiving Interregional All-Star team from hundreds of participants … Played 10 years of club soccer for Huntsville FC under coach Henry Mpagi before switching to BUSA '96 and also playing for Alabama FC of the WPSL (Women's Premier Soccer League) for the past two years … Off the field, member of the National Honor Society, Junior Civitan International and the United Way Youth Leadership Council. 

Caitlin O'Connor

Transferred to Georgia State after two seasons at Indiana where she played in 22 games, with four starts … She played almost 600 minutes and scored one goal … Four-year letterwinner as a center back, midfielder and forward at Milton High School in Milton, Ga. … As a senior, was voted a team captain and named team MVP after team finished with a 23-1 record and was ranked fourth in the nation … Led team to the 2012 state championship and two region championships in 2011 and 2012 … Participated in the Fulton County All-Star Game after senior season … Played club soccer for Atlanta Fire United under coach Mark Mackain … Member of the National Honor Society and four-time scholar-athlete honoree … Enrolled at GSU in Jan. 2014.

Leslie Ramirez

Four-year letterwinner at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Calif. … Played both as a forward and midfielder … Named Newcomer of the Year after her freshman season and selected to the Daily New Second Team after junior season … Led her team to four straight CIF Championships from 2010-2013 … As a junior, team finished 20-4-3, was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Maxpreps, won the state championship as she scored 13 goals and recorded 13 assists … As a sophomore, team went 23-3-2 and scored five goals and assisted on four more … As a freshman, team finished 21-3-3 while she scored five goals and had five assists … Played club soccer for Real So. Cal. for the G95-96 White team under coach Kristy Walker … Recipient of scholar-athlete award.

Kylie Ruffule

Three-year letterwinner in the midfield at Union Grove High School in McDonough, Ga. … Led team to the quarterfinals of state playoffs in 2011 and the semifinals in 2012 … Two-time all-county first team selection and two-time member of the all-region second team … She is also a two-time recipient of the Wolverine Award given to the team MVP … Played club soccer for Concorde Fire South under coach Brian Moore … Top 10 percent of her class and received the Georgia Certificate of Merit given to students in the top five percent of their class … Member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Beta Club and her school's mentoring program.   

Christa Strickland

Transferred to GSU after spending two seasons at Memphis, where she played 20 games in goal, including 16 starts … Recorded 74 saves and finished with a 9-6-1 record over two years … Four-year letterwinner in goal at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville, Ga. … Led team to the four straight state runner-up finishes from 2008-12 … Selected to the all-region first team in 2011 and second team in 2009 … Named to the ESPN Rise goalkeepers watch list … Member of the Georgia ODP team since 2007 … Earned third place at the ODP National Championship as part of the Region III pool team … Played club soccer for West Ga. Futbol Club under coach Chris Mahaffey … Member of the National Honor Society, FCA, Beta Club and the yearbook staff.

Anastasia Swift

Finished her high school career at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. … Also attended the Peoples Academy High School in Morrisville, Vt. where she was a three-year letterwinner as a goalkeeper … As a junior, recorded 15 consecutive shutouts and set the school record by conceding only four goals … Led team to division championships in 2011 and 2012, including an undefeated campaign in 2012 … Played club soccer for IMG Acadmey under coach Kelvin Jones … Member of the honor roll, student council and the prom committee. 

Kenzie Winters

Three-year letterwinner as a defensive midfielder and center back at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville, Ga. … Led team to three-straight state championship games from 2011-13 … Played club soccer for Concorde Fire ECNL under coach Brian Moore … Selected to the starting 11 of the ENCL Dallas All-Event team from hundreds of athletes in her age group … Team was U14 state cup champions, Region 3 Premier League regional semifinalist in 2010 and state cup semifinalists … Member of PALS at her high school.