Feb. 14, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College women's soccer team signed its first five players as it looks ahead to its inaugural season this fall.
"I am excited about the first five women's soccer signings," coach Lizzie Hornack said. "They are all from the Grand Rapids area and will be a great fit for our program. There is so much talent in the Grand Rapids area for women's soccer. There has already been so much interest in this program."
The GRCC Athletic Department added soccer in response to a growing interest in the sport internationally and an increasing number of requests from potential student-athletes. The team is preparing for a fall season debut.
The men's team signed its first four players of their inaugural class two weeks ago and recently signed several more.
Added to the women’s team is:
- Brooklyn Williams, a center back/center forward who attends Rockford High School and played on a club team at Michigan Futbol Academy and was State Cup champions in 2021.
- Allison Seevers, who plays outside midfielder/forward and was a four-year varsity player at Lowell High School. She played on a club team with SCOR-Meulensteen.
- Claira DeYoung, a forward/midfielder, was a two-year varsity player at Jenison High School and played with the Michigan Rangers.
- Belicia Cuevas, a forward/midfielder, attends GRCC student who played at Wyoming High School.
- Brooklyn Geerlings, a left winger, was a two-year varsity player at Zeeland West High School and played for the Michigan Rangers.
Men's signees are:
- Daniel Beyers, from Thornapple-Kellogg High School, played for a club team at Thornapple Area Soccer Club before going to play for Midwest United. His team won the district tournament in 2019 and was the varsity captain during his junior and senior years. He received First Team All-Conference, All-District and All-Team academics honors. He is studying pre-engineering and is pursuing a career in product design.
- Cole Drozdowsk is a center back/defensive mid who attends East Kentwood High School and plays outdoors for Midwest United and MigosFC for futsal. His team won the district championship in high school in 2022 and won State Cup with MFA Revolution in 2022.
- Jonathan Garcia is a goalkeeper/fullback for Kelloggsville High School. He plays for Michigan Power and boasted a 82 percent save percentage in high school, helping his team win four penalty shootouts. He kept five clean sheets during senior year, earning him Second Team All-Conference honors.
- Allex Hernandez plays center mid and was a four-year varsity player at Dowagiac Union High School, a two-time district champion. He was a two-time First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Region and Honorable Mention All-State; three time All-District
- Jeremy Mazariegos plays center attacking mid at Union High School, where he was named freshman and junior varsity team most valuable player and plays for the Midwest United FC club team.
- Jordan Marquez - Striker - Northview High School where he was named All-District; plays club at Michigan Rangers and was the leading scorer for the team this past year
There are still opportunities for students looking to be a part of both teams. Recruiting questionnaires are available here.
This story was reported by Ben Brown.