July 9, 2013
SAN DIEGO - The defending Mountain West champion San Diego State women's soccer team has added Katie Perry to its roster, head coach Mike Friesen announced Tuesday. The Mission Viejo, Calif., product arrives on Montezuma Mesa after spending her first two seasons at Texas A&M and is eligible to play immediately.
"We are very excited that Katie Perry has decided to come back home to San Diego State," Friesen said. "We feel like she will be a fantastic addition to our already strong midfield. Her style of play will fit our team very well and we anticipate she will be a big part of our success. It is always nice to have players from the San Diego Surf Soccer Club in our program, and we are excited to get one of the best they have produced in the last several years."
As a sophomore last year, Perry played in 24 games, starting eight, and helped the Aggies reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament en route to a 19-5-1 (10-2-1 Big 12) record. The midfielder scored two goals, one of which was a game-winner, and added an assist for a squad that finished 2012 ranked No. 14 in the final NSCAA poll.
Prior to her arrival in College Station, Perry was tabbed as a preseason top-10 freshman of influence by Soccer America and lived up to the recognition as she assisted on eight goals, which was the fourth-highest total, for a team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament (16-6-2; 6-1-1). All told, the true freshman played in 21 games and earned the starting nod seven times, including both NCAA games as the Aggies finished with an NSCAA final ranking of 21.
At the club and high school level, Perry was ultra-successful, helping her teams to the 2009 ODP National and U.S. Youth National Championships, which are included in the 40 major league and tournament titles she has been associated with. The San Diego Surf and 2010 U-17 England National Team member was also recognized as the No. 1 midfielder in Southern California and the sixth-best nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Perry, who has two goals and nine assists in 45 career games, joins an Aztec team that finished seventh in the final 2012 NSCAA poll, produced the best record in the country at 21-2-1, and returns the league's defensive player of the year and three first-team selections.