Charlotte Reilly
Contributor
The University of Nebraska at Omaha Women’s Soccer team is adding two transfer students to their team next fall.
Tim Walters, the UNO’s women’s soccer coach, said he hopes the two students will add speed and athleticism to the team.
Jaden Thiem was recruited to be a defender. She is originally from Elkhorn, Nebraska and will be a sophomore next year. She played volleyball for Northern Kentucky her freshman year, but wanted to return to Omaha to play soccer.
“She was an all-state honoree in both soccer and volleyball during her prep career. Thiem helped Elkhorn South to the 2015 Nebraska Class B State Championship, and won four state titles with Omaha FC under head coach Alex Mason,” according to Omaha Athletics.
Haley Johnson, from Bountiful, Utah, was recruited to be a goalkeeper. She played soccer at Iowa Western Community College, where she was a national runner-up. She then played for the University of South Florida. During her career in South Florida, she was a two-time NCAA All-American. Johnson will be a senior next fall for the Mavs.
Walters said Johnson wanted to play for UNO because she wants to have a bigger impact on a program. Currently, the UNO women’s team only has one goalkeeper, Erin Bunker.
“Bunker has done a fantastic job,” Walters said. “But we need two good goalkeepers. I love competition amongst our goalkeepers, and I think Johnson will provide that.”Walters said he hopes to have between 24 and 26 players on the roster next fall.
“Our goal was to get more athletic, and I think those two will be among our top athletes,”
Walters said. Walters said he has seen improvements in his players during the spring 2017 season, and he is excited to see the improvements carry out into the fall.
“I want the players to buy into our mentality and dig into life as student athletes,” Walters said. “It’s hard, but we want our athletes to be committed. We prepared the team for that this year, and I think we will see the benefits of that next season.”
