The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Soccer Signs Five For 2010
2/4/2010 | Soccer
This year's class includes three Georgia natives - Erin Emerson, Mandy McCalla and A'shanae Monroe - who all played with the AFC Lightning club team out of Atlanta. Maddie Cunningham, the younger sister of Rebel rising senior Taylor Cunningham, will join her sister at Ole Miss this fall, while St. Louis native Ally Nikolaus rounds out the talented quintet.
"Our staff is very excited to welcome these five wonderful players as Rebels," Holeman said. "They bring a solid mix of speed, athleticism and technical ability and have all played at a high level with their club programs. We expect this group to blend in very well with the returning core of our team."
Listed below are the members of the 2010 Ole Miss soccer signing class.
Maddie Cunningham (Louisville, Ky.)
The younger sister of current Rebel co-captain Taylor Cunningham, Maddie Cunningham will arrive at Ole Miss by way of Ballard High School and the Javanon soccer club in Louisville, Ky. Maddie led her club to the 2005 state championship and has guided her high school team to three straight district titles. An All-Region and All-District selection at Ballard, the 5-foot-6 forward has also been a six-year member of Kentucky's Olympic Development Program squad. The daughter of Steve and TamBrey Cunningham, she is a member of numerous clubs and honor societies at her school.
"Maddie is a natural athlete who has superb strength and speed and a load of potential," Holeman said. "Her athleticism will enable her to play a variety of roles for us, either as a forward or an outside midfielder. Her most noticeable weapon is her cannon of a shot that makes her a scoring threat from 30 yards."
Erin Emerson (Fayetteville, Ga.)
A senior at Whitewater High School just outside of Atlanta, Erin Emerson is one of three Rebel signees to compete with the AFC Lightning club team. The 5-foot-2 forward helped the Lightning to a Southeastern Regional finals appearance in 2009, as well as a pair of semifinal berths (2006, 2008) and a quarterfinal appearance (2007). She was an ODP Region III pool player in 2009 and has been a member of Georgia's ODP team since 2003. A starter since her freshman year at Whitewater, she helped her team to the 2007 state championship and has been an All-Region first-team selection all three seasons and Region Player of the Year as a junior. The daughter of David and Tina Emerson, she is an honor roll student, a member of several honor clubs and a participant in a number of community service efforts.
"Erin is a natural goal-scorer with tremendous instincts around the goal," Holeman said. "She is crafty off the dribble and has an advanced tactical sense of the game. She is playing with such confidence right now that she gets better every time we see her play."
Mandy McCalla (Fayetteville, Ga.)
A senior at Starr's Mill High School, Mandy McCalla is another standout from the AFC Lightning club team. A two-time team MVP at Starr's Mill, the 5-foot-8 midfielder has also played basketball. The daughter of John and Monica McCalla, she has been an honor roll student all four years of high school. Her older sister, Laura, plays soccer at UAB.
"Mandy is a versatile, hard-nosed player who is comfortable as a goal-scorer up top or in the midfield as a ball-winner," Holeman said. "She has excellent strength and is fearless on tackles and in the air. Mandy has shown wonderful leadership qualities, and we expect her to be a big part of the future of Ole Miss Soccer."
A'shanae Monroe (McDonough, Ga.)
The third member of the Rebels' AFC Lightning trio, A'shanae Monroe is a 5-foot-4 forward/defender who currently stars in soccer and track and field at Eagles Landing High School outside of Atlanta. On the prep pitch, she has set a school record for goals in a season (35 as a freshman) and is a two-time team MVP and one-time County Player of the Year. On the track, Monroe set the school record in the 200 meters (25.98 seconds) and was a member of the school-record 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams. She is the daughter of Marshall and Candice Monroe.
"A'shanae is a very speedy left-sided defender with fantastic instincts," Holeman said. "Her pace will make it very difficult for opposing forwards to get in behind her side of the defense, and her willingness to jump into the attack will give us another dangerous attacking option. She could also play up top as a true forward."
Ally Nikolaus (St. Louis, Mo.)
A senior at St. Joseph's Academy in St. Louis, Ally Nikolaus has helped her St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club to three state championships as a 5-foot-9 midfielder. On her high school team, she helped St. Joseph's to a state runner-up finish in 2008. She has also been a member of the basketball team and participated in a number of community service efforts. She is the daughter of David and Theresa Nikolaus and the cousin of Cleveland Indians pitcher and former Vanderbilt standout Jeremy Sowers, who ironically attended the same high school as Maddie and Taylor Cunningham.
"Ally has been a regular at our Ole Miss summer camps and showed such remarkable improvement between her sophomore and junior summers that we decided we wanted her on our team," Holeman said. "She has good size and strength and is very smooth on the ball under pressure. Her great vision and ability to distribute will be a wonderful asset to our midfield."
