SAN FRANCISCO – After posting back-to-back 10-win seasons, the University of San Francisco women's soccer team continues to add to its winning culture. To continue the winning tradition, head coach Jim Millinder is pleased to announce the addition of eight incoming student-athletes who he believes can make an immediate impact on the program.  
 
Millinder and the USF coaching staff announced the addition of Isabelle Esparza (Upland, Calif./Upland HS), Ana Gorlach (Portland, Ore./Lincoln HS), Kaya Pigoni (Upland, Calif./Upland HS), Jayd Sprague (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS), Samantha Reyes (Chino, Calif./Ruben S. Ayala HS), Gabby Rizzo (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS), Kenna Roth (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS), and Marissa Vasquez (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), all who signed National Letters of Intent.
 
"This class is outstanding!" said Millinder. "I think it is the best we have ever had from top to bottom. We have an abundance of quality players coming in 2020 that will make an impact immediately. They all are highly competitive and all have been very successful at the youth level. We bring in many quality defenders and midfielders and a couple of outstanding forwards. The thing I like about this group is their desire to want to get better and compete at the highest levels! I'm looking forward to their arrival."
 
Isabelle Esparza is a 5-foot, 4-inch outside backer from Upland, Calif. The four-time letter winner for head coach Bo Whieldon enters her senior season having already helped guide the Scots to three consecutive Baseline League Championships. The two-time Second Team Baseline All-League honoree is a phenomenal athlete, also earning all-conference honors as a pole vaulter on the track and field team.
 
Millinder on Esparza: "She is a very good outside defender and is tough, smart, and has pace. She has a very good understanding of the game, she gets forward and joins the attack from deeper positions and has an outstanding shot from distance."
 
In three seasons for Upland, she has six goals and two assists. Esparza also played club soccer for Legends FC with Kaya Pigoni, Samantha Reyes, and Marissa Vasquez.
 
Ana Gorlach is a 5-11 defensive midfielder from Portland, Ore., and a four-time letter winner for Lincoln High School. Entering her senior season, Gorlach is a three-time all-conference honoree, earning second team her freshman year and back-to-back First Team Portland Interscholastic League honors. 
 
Millinder on Gorlach: "Ana is a very good decision maker as a midfield player, she is tall and will win lots of balls in the air. She will fit in to our team and how we want to play. Skillful and can shoot from distance as well."
 
Gorlach is one of three players 5-10 or taller in the Dons' incoming class. An area Coach Millinder and his staff wanted to address this season.
 
Kaya Pigoni is a 5-10 holding midfielder from Upland, Calif., and is high school teammates with Isabelle Esparza. Pigoni, a four-time letter winner for the Scots, helped lead her team to back-to-back state championships in 2017 and '18 and according to MaxPreps.com has lifted her Upland High School team to become one of the nation's top prep teams. She is a three-time all-league honoree, earning first team honors as a junior.
 
Millinder on Pigoni: "Kaya brings a dominating presence whether in the midfield or in the back. She is tall, athletic and possesses one of the best shots I have ever seen for a youth player. Moreover, she is outstanding in the air."
 
Pigoni comes from a very athletic family. Her two older sisters McKenna and Alyssa played or are currently playing collegiate soccer.
 
Samantha Reyes is a 5-7 center back/defender from Chino, Calif. A four-time letter winner for Ruben Ayala High School, she is a three-time scholar-athlete honoree for the Bulldogs entering her senior season. A teammate of Isabelle Esparza, Kaya Pigoni, and Marissa Vasquez for Legends FC, she helped her club win a National Cup Championship as well as a State Cup Championship.
 
Millinder on Reyes: "She is very skillful and composed on the ball for a defender. She reads the game very well and is a good communicator. A very competitive young lady. She can play anywhere in the back."
 
Gabby Rizzo is a 5-5 outside back from Huntington Beach, Calif.  A four year letter winner for the Oilers she was the freshman offensive player of the year in 2016-17 before moving back, showcasing her diverse athleticism. She plays club for Slammers HB Elite and has travelled to Germany to play internationally.
 
Millinder on Rizzo: "We have followed Gabby for a while. She is very competitive and very versatile. She can play outside back, wide in the midfield or up front. Very athletic and so competitive."
 
Kenna Roth is a 5-7 center back from Newberg, Ore., one of two Oregonians who signed with the Dons in 2020. Roth only played high school soccer her freshman season, instead played at the club level all four years for head coach Laura Schott and the Portland Thorns Academy. Roth helped lead her club to back-to-back State Cup appearances and took home one State Club Championship.
 
Millinder on Roth: "Competitive as they come! This is the first thing I noticed about her in the recruiting process. Many kids play the game. She plays to win everything!
On top of that she is a very good communicator and organizer as a defender. She's tough and loves to play."
 
Jayd Sprague is a 5-10 holding midfielder from Laguna Beach, Calif. A three-time letter winner for Laguna Beach High School where she was twice awarded the Players Award, voted on by her teammates and given annually to the hardest worker and team player. She also earned First Team All-Sunset League honors last season. Played club soccer for multiple teams including an ECNL National Championship in 2016.
 
Millinder on Sprague: "She brings a toughness and an outstanding aerial presence with her. She is improving every time I see her. Jayd has the ability to make plays and dominate games in the midfield."
 
Marissa Vasquez is a 5-3 forward from Diamond Bar, Calif. Named the captain of her prep team as a sophomore, she has had a very decorated career. A three-time all-league honoree, she was named the Mt. Baldy League MVP following her junior season in which she scored 15 goals and added 13 assists. In three years, she has accumulated 68 points, scoring 25 goals and 18 assists.
 
Millinder on Vasquez: "She has the ability to be outstanding for us up front. She has lots of skill and craft around the penalty box and possesses an outstanding shot right or left-footed and whips in a great cross! A goal scorer is something that every team needs."