Recruiting Class PDF
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee head soccer coach Aston Rhoden has announced the addition of Norwegian standouts Birgitte Hauge and Heidel Johannessen to the Blue Raider recruiting class for the 2010 season.
"Both players bring high level experience to our team and their athletic and academic goals are consistent with ours," Rhoden said. "We are excited about both of them and are confident they will assist us in accomplishing our goals for the upcoming season."
Hauge hails from Aure, Norway, along the Western coast boarding the Atlantic Ocean. She graduated from Kristen Videregående Skole-KVT in 2009 and continued to play club soccer with Kattem IL. Her coach for both teams has been Kjetil Fosse.
She has only played soccer since 2006 when she turned 16; however, her quick ascent up the ranks in the country's club program has landed her with the Kattem IL's Norwegian Premier League squad since 2007. She has started a combined 39 matches for the First Team in three years, leading the squad to an eighth-place result in 2009 in the Toppserie.
Hauge has been elected the captain for county and regional teams and started for the 2006 Kattem U19 team which competed in the best regional Junior league. In 2008, the U19 squad placed third at the Norway Cup.
"Birgitte is a dominant defender who is good in the air and strong on the ground as well. She has a keen attacking sense and will provide us with several different playing options defensively."
Johannessen, a native of Hellvik, Norway, in the Southwestern part of the Scandinavian country, attends Norges Toppidrettsgymnas, the Norwegian Top-Level Athletics School, in the capital city of Oslo. She has played soccer at the school for coach Katrine Pedersen.
She played with the U17 Norwegian National Team in 2007 and the U15 National Team in 2006. She was selected as the best player in a U15 international match against Sweden in 2006.
Johannessen played for coach Bjørn Rustaden with the Asker FK Club program, earning Player of the Year accolades two times. She led the squad in goals and helped it win the Sørlands Cup.
The club program also won the Silver Medal at the Norway Cup and Dana Cup. Previously, she also saw club action with the Egersund Soccer Club, coached by Trond Olsen.
"Heidel is a very skilled forward who is very strong in the air," Rhoden noted. "She reads the game extremely well and is a good finisher inside and outside the box. Heidel is a very accomplished player and will be a great addition to an already very potent attack."
The Blue Raiders, who completed a 6-0-2 spring campaign, will resume practice beginning in August in anticipation of the fall season.
Print this article
