The Colorado College women's soccer program strengthened its roster with commitments from eight recruits who will continue their academic and athletic careers with the Tigers, head coach Geoff Bennett announced today.
 
Joining CC as freshmen for the 2016 campaign will be midfielder Lucia Costanza (Albuquerque, N.M.); goalkeeper Molly Hiniker (Edina, Minn.); midfielder Sarah Lyons (Colorado Springs, Colo.); forward Catie McDonald (Arlington, Va.); defender Aleesa Muir (Colorado Springs, Colo.); midfielder Ansley Queen (Palo Alto, Calif.); forward Madeline Stesney (Denver, Colo.); and midfielder Quinn Yawger (Denver, Colo.).
 
It marks the second year in a row and the third time in Bennett's tenure the Tigers have added eight newcomers. This year's class includes four midfielders, a pair of forwards, one defender and a goalkeeper.

 Costanza trained at the Region IV Olympic Development Program Camp and was a member of the New Mexico ODP team from 2010 through 2013. She served as captain of the New Mexico Rush '98 squad that won the 2015 state championship and played on the Rush '96 team that qualified for the Region IV Championships. 
 
"Lucia is an extremely technical and savvy midfielder who will immediately make us a more technical team," Bennett said. "She has the ability to break players down on the dribble, as well as make those around her better."

 Hiniker was a member of the Minnesota Olympic Development Team and trained with the Region II ODP for five years from 2010 through 2014. She also played U14 through U18 for the Minnesota Thunder Academy of the Elite Clubs National League and helped lead her team to the 2015 ECNL North American League championship as well as ECNL playoffs appearances in 2013 and 2014.
 
"Molly is a very good shot-stopping and vocal goalkeeper," said Bennett. "She has good distribution and has played goalkeeper in a very competitive ECNL environment. Molly will come in and help to give us a tremendous group of GK's here at CC."

 Lyons was elected for the 2012 Colorado Olympic Development Program training pool while playing club for the Pride Predators '98. She was captain of the Pride team that advanced to the finals of the Colorado Youth Soccer U18 tournament and led her team to championships at the Denver Cup and Disney Showcase in 2013. Lyons also was a two-time first-team all-state selection playing at Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument, Colo.
 
"Sarah is a technical player who can contribute to our attack immediately," Bennett said. "She can play with her back to the goal, face up defenders and be a playmaker. Sarah is a clinical goal scorer who will help us improve our ability in the final third."

 McDonald has six years of Olympic Development Program experience, three apiece in Region I and Region IV. She played four years with the Rush Select National Team and helped the Prince William Courage claim the 2015 National Premier League (NPL) and Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) championships. McDonald is the daughter of former Tiger Ann Cernicek, who ranks 12th in program history with 23 goals and is tied for 16th with 52 points.
 
"Catie is a goal scorer, plain and simple," Bennett said. "She loves to find gaps in back lines and make penetrating runs to get herself a look at goal. Catie has the ability and knack to constantly find herself in scoring positions and will help us immensely in the goal-scoring department."

 Muir also played for the Pride Predators '98 and helped her team advance to the finals of the 2015 Colorado State Cup. She also was part of the Pride squad that won the 2012 Colorado State Cup as well as the Colorado Youth Soccer U16 Super League championship. Muir was a two-time MVP at the The Classical Academy and was named the Colorado Springs Metro League Player of the Year and first-team all-league in 2015.
 
"Aleesa is an athletic and fast defender who will make us more dynamic and feisty in the backline," said Bennett. "She also is naturally left footed, which will enable her to compete as a left back or central defender on the left side. We are very happy to be adding Aleesa's attributes to our program."

 Queen played for the PSV Union FC in Palo Alto, Calif., and helped her team claim the regional championship of the 2015 National Cup in the U18 division. In 2014, PSV tied for second in the NorCal National Premier League (NPL) and won the Surf College Cup in the U17 Gold Division.
 
"Ansley is your prototypical deep lying central midfielder, which we love in our program," Bennett said. "She is technical and plays very simple and quickly. Ansley is tactically very sound and is a player who grasps her role quickly. Her style of play suits us very well."

 Stesney was selected for the Colorado Olympic Development Pool in 2014 and played club for the Colorado Rapids, which qualified for the United States Youth Soccer Far West Regional championship in 2014. She was nn honorable-mention all-state and first-team all-Denver Prep League selection in 2015.
 
"Madeline is a player who brings an element of versatility to our program," said Bennett. "She is athletic and loves to be a technical player who wants to attack the opposition. Madeline is smart and can play a variety of positions, which will help our program right away."

 Yawger earned a spot on the Colorado Olympic Development Program team in 2011 and trained at ODP camps in California and Idaho that year. She played club for the Colorado Storm Copa of the Elite Clubs National League, helping her U15 team finish eighth at the 2013 National Championships. Yawger's U16 and U17 squads competes in the regional championships of the North American League and Champions League, respectively.
 
"Quinn is a smooth and technical player who loves to play in the attacking midfielder role," Bennett said. "She will unbalance back lines with great runs and also uses her technical ability to play very fast and simple. Quinn's style of play fits perfectly into how we like to play here at CC."
 
Stesney and Yawger were teammates at Denver East High School, while Lyons and Muir played club together with the Pride Predators.
 
The Tigers return eight starters and 14 veterans from the 2015 team that posted a 9-12-1 overall record and finished fifth in the Mountain West with a 6-5-0 mark.
 
Colorado College officially kicks off the 2016 season on Aug. 19 at the University of Northern Colorado in the opening game of the Colorado Cup.