RECRUITING: Local soccer trio finds home at Akron

When Palo Verde girls soccer player Lexa Green was pondering her college decision, her parents gave her one main focus: get out and see the country.

One place stood out more than any other for the born-and-bred Las Vegan.

“My brother is in Virginia now, and they wanted all of us to experience something different, to get away from home and experience life on our own,” Green said.

Green chose Akron over interest from Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others.

The Palo Verde senior is one of three Southern Nevada soccer players heading to the Zips’ soccer program. The Panthers midfielder highlights a deep pool of local soccer talent expected to sign with college programs beginning on Wednesday’s national signing day.

Hailey Kirkwood of Cimarron-Memorial and Meghan Brascia of Bishop Gorman made an official visit to Akron with Green on the same weekend in early October. The trip allowed the close friends to discuss playing together in college.

“Since it’s so new, and it’s so far away from home, you worry that you’ll be by yourself,” said Kirkwood, who plans to study elementary education. “But knowing that they’ll be there with me is definitely a plus.”

Other local soccer players expected to sign with Division I schools include Palo Verde seniors Lauren AbuAli (San Francisco), Alyssa Kleiner (Santa Clara) and Tatiana Pagan (Evansville); Centennial’s Bethanie Skelton (Washington State), Faith Johannes (UNLV) and Emily Murzinski (San Francisco); Arbor View’s Taylor Bonetti and Tori Rodriguez (Louisiana-Monroe); and Green Valley’s Kayla Varner (Brigham Young).

Green played at Rancho for two seasons but transferred to Palo Verde prior to her junior year, a move that sidelined her per Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association regulations. The defender/midfielder said the commitments of her two friends played major roles in her decision.

“When I found out that they were also looking at Hailey — we’re really close friends — I was dying to get her to go there with me,” Green said. “Me, Brascia and Hailey all play in the defensive line together on club. We play really well together, and we thought us going there already familiar with each other would be beneficial when we get to Akron.”

All three were recruited as defenders, but they also have attacking talent. The Panthers currently play Green in a central midfield role, and Kirkwood spent much of last season as a forward at Cimarron.

Green has four goals and an assist this season despite seeing limited action while nursing an ankle injury. Kirkwood has eight assists, and Brascia recently scored two goals as a true defender at Gorman.

“We’re a very attack-oriented team, so that is huge for us,” Akron coach Chris Pfau said. “That next level for us to get to is finding players who can connect from the back forward.

“We know we can stick these kids anywhere on the field, and they’ll fit right in. Especially with Hailey Kirkwood — she’s a midfielder who’s been converted to the back, and that’s hard to do. That’s an extra bonus for us.”

The greater adaptation likely will come from the environment — all three players sent their national letters of intent on a day the campus was buried in a Midwest snowstorm.

“It was freezing when we went there,” said Green, who is considering a marketing major. “It wasn’t snowing, but it was really cold, and it was only the beginning of October.”

The trio hopes to continue Akron’s impressive turnaround since the arrival of coach Pfau following the 2007 season. The 10th-year program had just one Mid-American Conference win that year but currently boasts a 9-0-1 record in MAC East division play.

Similarly, the men’s program has grown to become one of the country’s top programs. The Zips won the national championship in 2010-11 with a roster that included a record-setting seven first-round picks in January’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Such success played into the trio’s decision.

“They’re crazy good,” Kirkwood said of the men’s team. “Chris Pfau really has high hopes that (the women’s team) can be up to their standards. He wants to be on the same position as them. And he’s building up a really good team right now. I’m confident in it.”

Both teams often work in unison at Akron, with the success of one program influencing the other, Green added.

“They’re trying to build the girls’ program around the men’s program, and that really attracted me,” she said. “Both teams are really close. They’re very positive towards one another. I really liked that.

“Because the men’s program is really successful, they have top training facilities and top fields.”

Pfau expects the local trio to make an immediate impact on his program.

“These kids are well-prepared playing against some of the best players in the country even before they get to college,” he said. “That’s a nice bonus for them to have as freshmen.”

It should make the transition from Las Vegas to Akron, Ohio — separated by more th an 2,100 miles and distinct weather patterns — easier than expected.

“It’s awesome. I just figured it was something different, and I loved that about it,” Kirkwood said. “It’s completely out of character for me.”