LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Lock Haven University lacrosse program has announced its class of 2012.

LHU head Kristen Selvage and the Lady Eagles will welcome an extremely talented group of 13 next fall, all whom will be looking to make an immediate impact and help continue LHU’s strong run of recent success.

“This class of recruits was a hand picked bunch,” Selvage said of the talented bunch.

“The majority have played midfield throughout their high school careers and will be able to adapt to playing anywhere on the collegiate field.”

The Lady Eagles class of 2012:

Lauren Bennett MF 5’11” Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Jefferson

Jenna D’Arcy MF 5’9” Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham

Mattie Evans MF 5’6” Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg

Elyse Fisher MF 5’6” Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial

Clare Gaeng MF 5’5” Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Jefferson

Kayleigh Johnson A 5’6” Fairport, N.Y./Fairport

Jaqueline Macone MF 5’5” Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial

Taylor Matthes A 5’4” Sparta, N.J./Sparta

Nicole Necci GK 5’6” Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial

Meghan Reynolds A 5’6” Columbia, Md./Atholton

Heather Sacko GK 5’7” Fairport, N.Y./Fairport

Kate Smyth MF 5’3” Levittown, Pa./Pennsburg

Julianne Speese MF 5’6” For Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin

Kaitlyn Smyth

Selvage's comment’s on Smyth:

She is a driven young woman with incredible speed and athleticism. From a coach’s perspective, I am most impressed with her work ethic and ability to change the momentum of a game with the spark she adds to the team. My favorite thing about Kate is her quiet and shy persona off of the field, you wouldn’t know it because once she steps on the field, you cannot miss her. She is all over the place. Up on offense, down on defense and teams just cannot stop her. She is aggressive, fast and skilled. She has a laundry list of athletic accolades including:

• 2007 Bucks County Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year

• 1st Team Suburban All-League

• 1st Team All-Galaxy as a member of Ultimate Goal

• Upper Atlantic Team 7

• Pennsbury High School Rookie of the Year

• Pennsbury High School #1 Attacker

• Pennsbury High School Team Captain

• Pennsbury High School MVP

• 1st Player in School History to score 100 goals and has since surpassed that with over 150 without her senior season even included.

Elyse Fisher

Selvage’s comment’s on Fisher:

She is another midfielder with great speed. She has very smooth stick skills and moves fluidly from left to right and vice versa. She will be counted on for her quick step and movement on offense and her ability to see a lane and use it. We see big things coming from Elyse.

Clare Gaeng, from Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Frederick, MD

Selvage’s comments on Gaeng:

She adds to our depth at the midfield spot. Her exceptional speed is her number one asset, but she has great vision on the field and will contribute to our midfield transition and on offense. She has a great shot with her left and right hand and will be deadly in front of the cage. At LHU Clare intends to study Health and Physical Education. She is the daughter of Brian and Roxie and has five brothers and sisters.

Clare was a captain of the Governor Thomas Patriots Girls lacrosse team and was honored as a All-Conference player in her junior season. She also played on the Frederick Stars Lacrosse Club- Elite Team.

Lauren Bennett

Selvage’s comments on Bennett:

Bennett is coming to LHU from Governor Thomas Johnson High School with teammate Clare. Lauren is the sweetest young woman off of the field and turns into a powerful animal on the field. Her height will be a huge asset on offense, at the midfield and on defense. She is the versatile player that we are happy to say we can put anywhere on the field and in any position. Those are our favorite athletes. She isn’t just tall, she is strong and she has speed and muscle behind every shot she takes. She can feed, she can score, she can intimidate, and she works really hard. Lauren was honored as a Frederick News Post 1st Team selection and as a 2nd Team Selection for the Mountain Valley Athletic League. She played for the Frederick Stars Club team and is the daughter of Tony and Cheryl Bennett and sister of Allie and Rex.

Heather Sacko

Selvage’s comments on Sacko:

She is a goalkeeper from Fairport, N.Y., who comes in with great playing experience behind her. She has been a three year member of the Empire State team, started for Fairport for threee years and is a guitar hero expert. 274 saves out of 388 shots, good for 71 percent save percentage in her junior season. 231 saves out of 342 shots, good for a 68 percent save percentage in her sophomore year. Heather caught my eye at a clinic in N.Y. two years ago. I hoped that she would consider us when the time came to look at colleges. Now here we are and I couldn’t be happier. She has great poise and patience in the cage. She has become more aggressive outside the crease and will continue to improve as she grows with our program. She is already an incredible keeper, now we are going to take it to the next level. This scholar-athlete is daughter of Bonnie and Brian Sacko and you can find her Grandma Jeanette at all of her games.

Mattie Evans

Selvage’s comments on Evans:

She is a fast and strong athlete from Lampeter-Strasburg high school outside of Lancaster. Throughout my recruiting process this past summer, I continued to see more and more improvement in Mattie’s play. An athlete is an athlete and you can teach them anything. I am looking forward to using Mattie’s speed and aggressive play in transition at the midfield and getting the ball back on defense. She will adapt well to the collegiate game because she wants so badly to be a better player. Her sophomore and junior seasons, she was a Section Two All Star. She was also the leading goal scorer for her soccer team, with 50 goals. She played club for Triple Threat and then Lanco Elite this past summer and learned a whole lot about the game at that level. Mattie craves learning more about lax. She just can’t wait to get more knowledge about the game. Through the recruiting process, I have had numerous high school coaches mention Mattie and how happy they were to hear that got her. She was a standout to me the first time I saw her play indoor at USTC, I knew I could use her speed and quick feet. I see her as a spark plug to her team and I love that.

Jenna D’Arcy

Selvage’s comments on D’Arcy:

She is the daughter of Joanne and Bill D’Arcy and is a tremendous addition to our already stellar lineup. She is determined to be a better player. She has great skills and her height will certainly help her. Jenna played on the Ultimate Goal club team over the past few summers and the level of play and competition has certainly helped her to develop and fine tune her stick skills. She is already focused on her conditioning. As a coach, I know that Jenna has the ability to move the ball well at the midfield. One of her strengths is her ability to see the whole field and know where to be and when to help the ball along. Another positive, she can feed the ball very well at the midfield, but in front of the cage as well.

Julianne Speese

Selvages’ comments on Speese:

She is from Fort Washington, Upper Dublin High School and is a terrific addition to our team here at LHU. Lucky for us her father is an alum of LHU and although the campus sold itself, it certainly didn’t hurt that Mr. Speese could tell all of his stories about being an athlete at the Haven. I am thoroughly impressed with the drastic improvement I have seen in Julianne from the beginning of this past summer to the end. She’s dedicated herself to learning new and creative things about her lacrosse play. She showed me the passion that I know many players are missing and that is refreshing. She is completely dedicated to her workouts and will really turn it on for us. The great thing is that I have no idea where I will play her, she can play it all. First, I though attack, and then I saw her defense get better, now her endurance is improving. She gets better and better the closer we get to her collegiate debut. Julianne loves to coach lax to younger girls, is almost fluent in German and is the daughter of Debora and Joseph Speese.

Kayleigh Johnson

Selvage’s comments on Johnson:

Despite brining tremendous talent she also helped us bring in goalie Heather Sacko all the way from Fairport, N.Y. She (Johnson) brings a rocket oshot and offensive knowledge. She has garnered First and Second Team All-Monroe County in 2005, 2006, and 2007. She then spent this past summer traveling with the Lady Roc club team and playing on the Empire State team. She currently has 150 goals and 48 assists which leads the Fairport team in both categories. She has also led her team in goals and assists each season since she has started playing. As a captain on the 2008 Fairport team, she brings great dedication and positive leadership to their team and we cannot wait to have her add that to our team here at LHU. She is a deadly attacker because she has a really quick shot that is accurate as well, most players that take a shot from the eight meter are just holding their breathe that it goes in; Kayleigh places it every time. Even some of her future teammates here at LHU have commented on seeing her play in the past and what she can add to this team. It is really exciting knowing that they already have respect for her talent.

Jackie Macone

Selvage’s comments on Macone:

She is a midfielder/attacker from Jackson, N.J. She has good speed and the ability to come in and put goals in the net. With great stick skills and an equally eager mind to learn, we expect to develop Jackie quickly. It took Jackie a long time to decide what she wanted to do with her collegiate career. I believe when she saw what she could contribute to us and the tight bond this team already has, it gave her confidence to know that she belongs here. She very much does belong here and she will be called upon to do great things for us.

Nicole Necci

Selvage’s comments on Necci:

She is a goalkeeper from Jackson, NJ. She has recently committed to LHU and has spent the last three seasons dedicating herself to minding the net. Her coach tells us that her hands and feet have gotten much faster and she has really taken her own play to the next level. She is the third freshman we have committed to this class from Jackson, N.J. because they are really doing it right at Jackson. They have discipline, stick skills and work ethic, meaning, the battle is half conquered. Nicole will be a strong goalkeeper for us while she fights to earn that starting spot.

Meghan Reynolds

Selvage’s comments on Reynolds:

She is an attacker from Atholton High School in Columbia, MD. A nine year veteran of the sport of lacrosse, she is no stranger to D-II lacrosse as her older sister Michaela Reynolds is a goalkeeper for Limestone College. Meghan is a very talented attacker. She is her team’s MVP and Best Offensive Player. She received her coach’s award in her junior season and has played for M & D club for two years. At LHU Meghan will be a Business major. I enjoy Meghan’s responsibility; she is a very driven young woman. I believe this will play a huge role in her as she is very coachable. She is already a very skilled attacker, reads an offense well and will adapt easily to our style of play. With her positive attitude and willingness to learn, she will do great things for us. Meghan is the daughter of Beth and Kieran Reynolds.

Taylor Matthes

Selvage's comments on Matthes:

She from Sparta High School and from her high school coach’s perspective “She has improved by leaps and bounds in terms of her ability and accomplishments as a lacrosse player, and I believe that, if given the opportunity, she will bring a great deal of energy, devotion and enthusiasm to your program.” Taylor played club for Tri-State and will brings devotion to the sport of lacrosse and an absolutely terrific desire to improve. She has started her senior year with great improvement and we are looking to see her stick skills contribute on our offense.

These 13 talented young women will join an already explosive Lady Eagle lineup.