Little Rock Soccer Announces Five New Additions

LITTLE ROCK - The Little Rock soccer team has officially announced that five new members will join the Trojans in the upcoming 2020-21 season, including the addition of a midyear transfer. Join head coach Mark Foster and assistant coach Audra Larson in welcoming Karina De Paoli (Lake Dallas, Texas), Skylar Garner (Piperton, Tennessee), Mariella Stephens (Argyle, Texas), Jessie Vaden (Little Rock, Arkansas) and transfer Emily Samisch (Mississippi State) to Little Rock.

"I'm really excited to announce this signing class," said Foster of the four incoming freshmen. "These signees will bring great strength to our team on the soccer field but will also do a great job representing Trojan athletics in the classroom and community. Adding these young women to a great group of returners and anticipating more signees as the spring progresses, I couldn't be more excited about the future of our program."

Of Samisch, who is on campus with the Trojans already, Foster adds, "I was also excited that we were able to add Emily to our team at winter break. She comes to us from Mississippi State and we're excited to see what she can add to our program."

Read more about the incoming class of 2024 below:

Karina De Paoli
Position: Forward
Hometown: Lake Dallas, Texas
High School: Lake Dallas High School
Club Team: FC Dallas
Accolades: Offensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All-District, 2nd Team All-District, Academic All-District honoree

Coach Foster on De Paoli - "Karina is an outside forward who has great ability in 1v1 situations. We know she's going to bring a lot of assists and goals to our team."

Skylar Garner
Position: Left Side
Hometown: Piperton, Tennessee
High School: Briarcrest Christian High School
Club Team: 02 Lady Lobos Rush Premier
Accolades: Two-time Tennessee State champions, 2019 high school State champions, Offensive MVP award, 2019 All-Metro Team, Player of the Year candidate, Rush Select National team member, Tennessee State ODP team 

Coach Foster on Garner - "Skylar has the unique ability to play left back and left sided forward. Her natural left foot will bring much needed balance to our team."

Mariella Stephens
Position: Midfielder
Hometown: Argyle, Texas
High School: Denton Guyer High School
Club Team(s): FC Dallas ECNL/DPL
Accolades: Two-time All-District team, high school Area Finalist, Team Captain, Two-time State Cup Finalist and International Cup Finalist with Solar Soccer Club, Four-year letter winner in both soccer and cross country, Denton ISD Varsity Scholar Athlete Team member

Coach Foster on Stephens - "Mariella can play defensive mid or attacking mid. We're excited about her ability to forward passes and we believe she can add goals to the team from midfield."

Jessie Vaden
Position: Forward
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
High School: Baptist Preparatory High School
Club Team(s): Real Arkansas/Mississippi Rush/Arkansas Rush
Accolades: All State honoree, high school team MVP, 2018 Rush Select National Team member, 2015 and 2019 Arkansas State Cup champion

Coach Foster on Vaden - "Jessie is a fast, athletic forward. We know that she will be able to help us wide left, wide right and in the middle." 

For the latest information on Little Rock Soccer, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSOC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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