Auburn, ME - Central Maine Mustangs Head Coach, Rob Rodriguez, is thrilled to announce the commitment of forward Shelby Baker from Murray, Utah.
According to Coach Rodriguez, "When Shelby came out to visit us for a few days in early November we were able to see her on and off the field with the team and she fit in immediately. Anyone watching who was not familiar with our team would never have known she was a visiting recruit who had never met these players before. On the field, she packs a lot of energy and athleticism into her small frame. She has a good sense of the game, excellent speed, and is fearless in her willingness to battle for the ball. Most visiting recruits will be somewhat tentative when they get on the field with the team for the first time, but Shelby was just the opposite. In most situations, she was the aggressor, and that caught everyone's attention right away. This is a team that loves playing together and works extremely hard to be successful and they expect the same out of new players who want to come on board. They sensed right away that Shelby has that same attitude."
West Jordan High School varsity coach, Jim Jaramillo, commented, "Shelby played striker for us and ended the season with 5 assists and 3 goals on the way to an 8 win, 2 loss record. She is a very hardworking and aggressive player with a great attitude who causes the opposing team fits. She has played for me for four years and I have enjoyed coaching her and seeing her develop. She is a multi-sport athlete at our school so being able to concentrate solely on soccer will make her a good asset to the CM team."
When asked about her commitment to Central Maine, Shelby mentioned, "I am looking forward to the whole college experience and I am excited to play at the collegiate level. I expect the game to be more aggressive and physical and I am ready for this new challenge. I picked Central Maine because I feel academically and athletically that it is a great place for me to develop as a student and an athlete. When I came for a visit the team and the school were very welcoming and I was impressed with the facilities. I liked the technology that is available to the students and I was impressed with the faculty and staff that I met on my visit, they were so supportive of the athletes and the students on campus."
Coach Rodriguez, "As a conference finalist this past year, we are coming off a very successful season and have raised the bar even higher for 2020 so being able to add Shelby to what we expect will be a very dynamic offense should give us multiple weapons that will make us very hard to defend. Our conference is extremely competitive so we need to be excellent on both sides of the ball in order to continue to be successful. Attracting players such as Shelby from across the country is a big step forward for us in putting the best possible team on the field."
