NATCHITOCHES – For his fourth Northwestern State soccer recruiting class, George Van Linder had very specific ideals in mind.
 
To that end, Van Linder and his staff signed 10 student-athletes during Wednesday's National Signing Day.
 
"We wanted to become better athletically, and I think we did that," he said. "Another area for us was to add more goal scorers. That's an area you can never have too many, and I will say we have improved in that area as well."
 
The NSU Class of 2015 includes a trio of high-scoring forwards in Bailey Freeman (Shreveport/Loyola College Prep), Karoline Guidry (Opelousas/Opelousas Catholic) and Kayleigh Philips (Forney, Texas/Forney HS).
 
Through her first three high school seasons, Freeman tallied 114 goals while assisting on 83 others. Thus far in her senior season – which is still active – Freeman has scored 24 times and added 20 assists.
 
Freeman is a three-time All-State selection and been either the Offensive MVP or overall MVP of Loyola's district all three seasons of her career. Away from the pitch, she is an honor roll student, who owns a 4.0 grade point average and is the chairman of FAITH (Flyers Aiding the Hungry).
 
"She was someone that soccer fans in Louisiana kept telling us we need to have," Van Linder said. "She has an incredible knack to not only score goals, but to get the ball to the open player. Her sister is a sophomore here in our Scholars College, and Bailey is going to join her. We are excited to have Bailey here, and our current forwards and attacking players will soon appreciate her as well."
 
Guidry brings a remarkable scoring resume with her as well.
 
In five seasons at Opelousas Catholic, Guidry emerged as the top goal scorer in school history, finding the back of the net 133 times. She has been a three time, first-team all-district and four-time, first-team, all-parish selection in each of her first four seasons. She is a four-time parish offensive MVP and has claimed that honor at the district level three times. She was named to the Freshman All-State Team as well.
 
"We were really impressed with her dedication and determination when we met her," Van Linder said of Guidry, whose sister attends Northwestern State.
 
"Coach Marsha (Harper) went to watch her play and said we needed an athlete like Karoline to be on the squad. She has scored an impressive number of goals, and we hope she can continue to do the same at NSU. We are also excited to add another player from Louisiana to the squad."
 
Like Freeman and Guidry, Phillips has the ability to score in bunches. She has totaled 86 goals through her Forney High School career, which is still active. Phillips has a chance to do something just seven other Texas girls high school soccer players have accomplished. She also is an honor roll student who was named to the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches All-State Team as a sophomore.
 
"Only seven players in the state of Texas have ever scored 100 goals during their high school career," Van Linder said. "If she doesn't do it, she'll be very close. She is a very determined and focused player. She isn't someone you can give time to in front of the goal, because she will punish you. She will be a threat and will compliment the other players we have up front as scoring threats now."
 
Joining Freeman and Phillips as potential attacking forwards for NSU is Brittany Caserma from Murrieta, Calif. (Vista Murrieta HS). Caserma owns the Vista Murrieta record for single-game scoring with five goals.
 
Caserma also enjoyed a stellar club career with Legends FC of Chino Hills, Calif.
 
"Her team won the USYSA National Championship at the U16 level in 2012, and they have returned to the finals every year since," Van Linder said. "She is very athletic, the slasher type. She has great speed in combination with her athleticism and we think she helps give us a good mix of different types of goal scorers up front. She along with the current attacking players and the others we signed today give us a lot of options, and it is just a mater of how fast they can click we get them on campus."
 
At the midfield level, NSU added April Ficarrotta from Liberty High School in Henderson, Nev., and Caylee Kidwell from Georgetown (Texas) High School.
 
As a sophomore, Ficarrotta was the Patriots' Most Valuable Player during their state championship season. She also earned all-region and all-league honors that season and carries a 4.64 weighted grade point average (3.84 non-weighted).
 
Ficarrotta also earned the Scholar-Athlete Award as a freshman.
 
"April is a player we liked the instant we saw her," Van Linder said. "She is very versatile in the midfield, but takes pride in being a defensive mid. She is strong technically, as you would expect, and reads the game well. She has great grades and is someone that we think is going to be a good fit."
 
Kidwell, meanwhile, was a team captain as a senior and anchored the Georgetown defense, earning district defensive MVP honors as a junior.
 
Kidwell ran cross country and owns a 3.6 grade point average, earning a University Interscholastic League (UIL) Academic All-District award.
 
"She is a natural leader, and she is very athletic," Van Linder said. "We really admire her mental toughness. We expect her to compete for the defensive midfielder position, a spot where we had a lot of losses from graduation. She was one of our first commitments for 2015, and we really look forward to seeing the impact she makes on the field."
 
Versatility is a theme with several other NSU signees.
 
Jacqueline Manza from Toms River (N.J.) East High School played both midfield and forward for the Raiders and ranks in the school's top 10 in career scoring.
 
She scored a career-high 11 goals as a senior and was selected as a team captain. Manza also ran track as a high school freshman and carries a 3.6 grade point average.
 
She fills a unique need for Van Linder's squad.
 
"Last year, our team had only one naturally left-footed player, which isn't great," he said. "Even worse, she was a senior. We considered that an important need for our team. I was at an event in Florida last summer, and I saw this player who was left-footed, fast and could play a lot of different positions but was most comfortable on the attack.
 
"The event was several days long, and she seemed to grow stronger in the heat as the week went on. She was selected to the all-start team. With her speed, she is pretty comfortable getting around the sides, and she is comfortable scoring goals."
 
Much like Manza, Jasmine Juarez and Ysmina Smith have found success playing at different levels on the pitch.
 
Juarez split time between defender and midfielder at Oklahoma City's Westmoore High School.
 
With the Jaguars, Juarez was a three-time all-conference selection, a two-time letterwinner in cross country for a team that finished eighth in Oklahoma, and owns a 4.0 grade point average.
 
Juarez also brings some familiarity with Van Linder to Natchitoches.
 
"When I was coaching at the University of Oklahoma prior to this, every soccer fan in that state knew that one of the best clubs in the state is the Oklahoma Football Club," Van Linder said. "We are excited to have Jasmine join us from that club. Like other incoming freshmen, she is a versatile player and athlete. We really like her ability to distribute the ball, so we see her in the midfield for us. With the players we had graduating from the midfield, we think that she will work hard and find a spot for herself."
 
Smith comes to the NSU program from Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock, Texas, and, like Juarez, has proven her versatility on the pitch.
 
Smith was an all-district selection as a junior, a National Honor Society member and owns a 4.2 grade point average.
 
"We were at a tournament in Dallas at Thanksgiving two years ago when we first saw Ysmina," Van Linder said. "She started the game as a defender, moved to the midfield, and by the end of the first half, she was up front and had scored two goals. She is a player who is very comfortable on the outside. She has tremendous speed, and she is the type of player who can guard the other team's fastest player or use her speed to expose the opponent's defense."
 
Mattilyn Reeder rounds out the signing class. Reeder, a Loyola teammate of Freeman, is a dedicated outside back, who has helped anchor a Flyers defense that led Loyola to the state title game two seasons ago and to the state semifinals a year ago.
 
Reeder is the daughter of Lon Reeder, a Northwestern State alumnus, and is the Loyola Senior Class President.
 
Reeder is a two-time, first-team all-district pick and was named to The (Shreveport) Times All-City Team as a sophomore. Like several of her classmates, she was a three-year letterwinner in softball and lettered two years in volleyball, where she was an all-district selection and a team co-captain.
 
"She is going to be in the Scholars College, so she is an impressive student as well as athlete," Van Linder said. "She is a very blue-collar, hard-working defender – someone who is very consistent. She isn't the flashiest player, but you just have to watch the team play a few times to see how important she is to a team's backline. We think she will be a great addition to our defensive corps."