March 17, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State soccer head coach Heather Cairns has announced that forward Danielle Shorts has signed to compete for the Aggies in the 2008 season. Shorts joins eight other incoming freshmen that have signed with USU. She is a native of Gilbert, Ariz., and attends Highland High School.

A four-year letterwinner, Shorts is a three-time first-team all-region selection, and Highland High School's two-time offensive player of the year. As a senior, Shorts earned Arizona 5A first-team all-state honors. She was also voted offensive player of the year for her region while ending her high school career as the all-time leading goal scorer with 53 goals. Shorts also tied the single season scoring record at Highland with 21 goals scored at the end of her senior season. During her junior campaign, she received Arizona 5A all-state second-team accolades.

"I am excited to add Danielle to our incoming freshman class," Cairns said. "She is a proven goal scorer who earned all-state accolades in high school. The other thing that impressed me about her through the recruiting process was how well-rounded she is, ranking in the top one percent of students in her high school academically and being heavily involved in the music program. She is a quality person and player, and we are lucky she chose to attend Utah State."

USU's signing class is now at nine players as Shorts joins freshmen Brittney Boyack, Shantel Flanary, Molli Merrill, Megan Rhoads, Chandra Salmon, Marissa Sanchez, Summer Tillotson and Alexis Venable.

Utah State returns nine starters and 17 letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 10-11-0 record, tying the most-ever wins in the program's 12-year history. Utah State's 5-2-0 conference record ties the previous program-record mark of five league wins set in 2006. This year, USU also set records for most points in a season (114), most goals in a season (40) and most assists in a season (34).

Utah State Soccer 2008 Signing Class
NAME                 POS     HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)Brittney Boyack     F       Las Vegas, Nevada (Spring Valley HS)Shantel Flanary     F       Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS)Molli Merrill       GK      Bountiful, Utah (Bountiful HS)Megan Rhoads        D       Sandy, Utah (Brighton HS)Chandra Salmon      M       Provo, Utah (Provo HS)Marissa Sanchez     F   Twins Falls, Idaho (Twins Falls HS)Danielle Shorts         F       Gilbert, Arizona (Highland HS)Summer Tillotson    D       Sandy, Utah (Alta HS)Lexi Venable        D       Layton, Utah (Northridge HS)