Virginia Women's Soccer Announces 2017 Signing Class

May 10, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia head women’s soccer coach Steve Swanson announced the addition of four new players who will join the program for the 2017 season with the release of the program’s latest signing class on Wednesday (May 10).

“As a staff, we could not be more excited about this year’s class and what it means to our program in the future,” Swanson said. “Although a smaller class, especially when you compare it to the last two years, this class has excellent talent and even more, exceptional character. These players will strengthen our team, especially in the areas that were hurt most by graduation – namely in goal and in our back and midfield lines. In addition, each of these student-athletes will fit in extremely well with our style play, our emphasis on development given how motivated they are, and most importantly, our team-first culture.”

All four players have competed at a high level throughout the course of their high school and club careers, and bring a wealth of experience to the Virginia program heading into the upcoming season. Joining the program are goalkeeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.), midfielder Taryn Torres (Frisco, Texas), forward/midfielder Sofia Weiner (Evergreen, Colo.) and midfielder/defender Sydney Zandi (West Chester, Pa.).

This year’s recruiting class is currently ranked No. 8 nationally without factoring in Ivory, who is graduating early to attend Virginia this fall. All four players are ranked in the top 100 players of their class in the IMG Academy Top 150 from TopDrawerSoccer.com.

The four newcomers join 25 returning players from a squad that advanced to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Championships a year ago and ranked among the top 10 nationally for most of the season. The class joins a 2016 recruiting class that ranked in the top-five nationally.

VIRGINIA WOMEN’S SOCCER 2017 RECRUITING CLASS

Laurel Ivory – Goalkeeper – Surfside, Fla. (Miami Country Day School)
• Starting keeper for U17 World Cup Team
• Top-ranked goalkeeper and No. 7 player in the class of 2018 in the IMG Top 150
• Member of the U20 Women’s National Team
• Played club soccer for the West Florida Flames of the ECNL

Taryn Torres – Midfielder – Frisco, Texas (Centennial High School)
• Member of the U17 Women’s National Team
• Ranked No. 15 in the IMG Top 150 players of the class of 2017
• Member of the U15 and U19 Women’s National Team
• Played club soccer for FC Dallas of the ECNL

Sofia Weiner – Forward/Midfielder – Evergreen, Colo. (Evergreen Senior High School)
• Member of the U18 Women’s National Team
• Ranked No. 73 in the IMG Top 150 players of the class of 2017
• Competed in the International Cup in Ireland with the U18 WNT
• Played club soccer for the Colorado Rush of the ECNL

Sydney Zandi – Midfielder/Defender – West Chester, Pa. (B. Reed Henderson High School)
• Member of the U17 Women’s World Cup Team
• Ranked No. 13 in the IMG Top 150 players of the class of 2017
• Selected to compete in the High School All-America game as a senior
• Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and named TDS All-America as a sophomore
• Member of the U19 Women’s National Team
• Played club soccer for the Penn Fusion of the ECNL