It didn't take long for Hillary Arthur to have high expecations for her Western Nevada Community College women's soccer team.
The coach led WNCC to a third place finish in the Scenic West Conference in its inaugural season. Arthur said she expects the Wildcats to do better in their second year.
Arthur said she feels she has a recruiting class capable of taking the team to the next level. That recruiting class was finished on Wednesday when five more players were signed.
Three of the players signed during a ceremony at the WNCC campus on Tuesday: Douglas High's Christina Bradshaw and Meghan Olsen and Silverado's Brittany Romito. South Tahoe's Virginia Loyola and and North Valley's Samantha Saquella also signed with the Wildcats.
Despite taking the job in January, 2005 and with a short time to prepare, Arthur led WNCC to a third place finish in the Scenic West. WNCC was also ranked 12th nationally in academics, had four players earn all-conference honors and one player be nominated for All-American status. "It turned out very successful," said Arthur about the first year.
But Arthur isn't satisfied. "I expect us to be in the finals going for the championship of the Scenic West Conference," she said.
That should be a reasonable goal since the league's top team, Dixie State, is moving up to Division II. That means Southern Idaho and WNCC will be the top two teams returning from last year.
"I've been working very hard to recruit top-notch players," Arthur said. She said this year's recruiting class should "definitely man an immediate impact with our squad" and raise the level of the team's play.
"These three are definitely in that category," said Arthur about the three players who were at the signing ceremony on Tuesday.
Olsen, a defender/midfielder, was a three-year starter at Douglas and was named to the all-Sierra League second team. She served as a team captain with Bradshaw.
Bradshaw was a four-year varsity player and a three-year starter. She scored 53 goals in her career. She was an all-league first team choice. "She has great speed," Arthur said. "She uses her height well."
Romito, a midfielder/forward, also was a four-year varsity player, who scored 45 goals in her career.
"She's great to watch," Arthur said. "She's very dynamic to watch in the midfield. She distributes the ball well. She is fantastic."
Saquella is another player who will add speed to the defense and can play multiple positions, Arthur said.
Loyola, a center midfielder, is a similar player to Romito, who is "deceptive with the ball, very quick, very fast," Arthur said.
Arthur has signed 10 players in this year's class. The other five players are Carson High goalie Allie Otto; Douglas High's Allison Pyne, who is attending the University of Nevada, a defender; Samantha Carter, a forward from Reno; Douglas midfielder Courtney Linhart; and Galena outside midfielder Tiana Galliglee. "I think they're going to be awesome to watch in 2006," Arthur said.