Women's Soccer | 12/6/2018 11:18:00 AM

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV women's soccer will welcome six new members next fall after the future Rebels signed national letters of intent in November, announced head coach Chris Shaw Thursday. The group includes three local products out of Coronado High School in Henderson - Haley Meusy, Heather Mitchell and Alysa Caso - two from California - Eliza Kolek and Krista Eberle - and one from Hawai'i - Kaila Ambrosio.

"I am excited to announce our incoming 2019 recruiting class that we are bringing in to the UNLV women's soccer program in a few short months," said Shaw. "We expect this group to immediately impact our program both on and off the field. We have been able to keep several of the most talented local players home to be Rebels and when you mix those players in with a few big time out of state recruits, we know we will have a dynamic and exciting group that will be making a run towards a Mountain West Conference championship in the fall of 2019!"

High school teammates Meusy, Mitchell and Caso will all stay home and play for their hometown school after sharing the field during their prep careers for the Cougars and for the club organization Heat FC out of Henderson.

Meusy is a two-time starter at midfield and forward for Coronado, helping the Cougars to an undefeated regular season and a conference championship as a junior in 2017 and a state semifinals appearance as a senior this fall. She was a 2018 team captain and was nominated for the city's 2018 All Star game. Meusy has played the Heat FC since 2014, winning a Southwest Conference championship in 2017 on a team that finished that season ranked top five nationally. She was also a member of the Nevada State Olympic Development program and plans on majoring in kinesiology at UNLV.

Mitchell was also a two-year starter, playing outside back at Coronado under head coach Dana Neel in 2017 and 2018. The Cougars went 42-4-6 over those two seasons with Mitchell being named to the All-Desert Region team in 2018. She also played club soccer for the Las Vegas' Heat FC since 2014, helping them to the 2017 Southwest Conference championship. Mitchell is undecided on what she will major in at UNLV.

Like Meusy and Mitchell, Caso was a two-year letterwinner for Neel at Coronado. The forward had a prolific prep career for the Cougars, leading the attack up front for the past two years. As a junior in 2017, Caso scored 22 goals to go along with 11 assists, then followed with 19 goals and 11 more assists her senior year, helping the Cougars to 42 wins during those two seasons. With her skills on the offensive side of the field, Caso, who was also a forward for the Heat FC club program, could provide immediate help up front for the Rebels as Shaw will try to replace his top two goals scorers from the 2018 squad. Caso will major in hospitality management at UNLV.

A defender out of Diamond Bar, California, Kolek only played one year of high school soccer before switching exclusively to club ball after her freshman year. In her one high school season in 2015-16, Kolek was named a second team all-league selection and her team's rookie of the year, while she earned scholar-athlete honors. Playing for the Legends FC in Corona, California, Kolek helped her team win a USYS National Championship in 2015 and a USYS National League title in 2017, in addition to playing for the Legends FC '01 Development Academy during her junior and senior seasons. Kolek has been ranked the No. 32 prospect in the Southern California regional rankings by TopDrawerSoccer.com for the class of 2019. She plans on majoring in kinesiology at UNLV.

Eberle, the second signee from California, is a four-year starting defender at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, helping the Titans to back-to-back league championships as a sophomore in 2016-17 and a junior in 2017-18. She is a two-time All-Mesa League selection, earning second team honors in 2017 and first team honors in 2018. Her junior season also saw her named to the All-CIF First Team, the All-West Regional team and the San Diego Union-Tribune's All-Academic team. Kolek has played for the Rebel Soccer Club since 2015, which has consistently been ranked as the No. 1 rated club team in the nation with multiple state, regional and national championships. The four-year California Olympic Development Program selection most recently won a national championship with the Rebels in 2018. She will major in biology at UNLV.

For the second straight year Shaw will have a signee from Hawai'i as Ambrosio will come to Las Vegas from the Island of Hawai'i, also known as the Big Island.  Ambrosio is a three-year letterwinner on the defensive back line for Kamehameha Schools Hawaii (Keaau Campus), where she has helped her team to three regional title game appearances and two state title game appearances, most recently earning the Impact Player award for the state final game in 2018. She will play her senior season in the spring as a fourth-year starter at centerback, where she will anchor the last line of defense for the Warriors. Ambrosio plays her club ball for the Hawaii Surf FC, which also produced Hevani Haunga, who was a freshman for the Rebels in 2018. Ambrosio intends on majoring in hotel management when she arrives at UNLV.