RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's soccer head coach Glad Bugariuannounced on Wednesday the additions of 13 student-athletes in defender Elizabeth Beilfuss, goalkeeper and Veterans Memorial alum Karime Benavides, goalkeeperMacie Blohowiak, forward Tanya Brouse, defender Nadia Colon, forward Anna Frida Groedem, defender Sydney Hammond, defender and McAllen Memorial alum Georgina Hernandez,forward/defender Mari Liis Lillemae, midfielder Madeline von Moeller, midfielder Molly Reynosa,forward Lily Rodriguez, and defender Shi' Anne Swift for the 2020-21 academic season.
 
"We are very pleased with the class this year as it addresses some of the deficiencies I felt we had last season," Bugariu said. "We hope this class allows us to take another step toward our dream of winning a WAC Championship and continue building the team. Adding 13 players to a team can have a very positive effect in many ways and we are fortunate to have added some excellent players on both sides of the ball." 
 
Beilfuss comes to the program from Cedarburg, Wisconsin after playing soccer at Cedarburg High School. Beilfuss helped her team to three straight Wisconsin State Championships from 2017-19 and back-to-back Midwest Regional Championships in 2018 and 2019 while being named to the US Youth Soccer Midwest Conference Best XI in 2018 and 2019.
 
Beilfuss played her club soccer with North Shore United helping her team to a 2018 USYSA runner-up finish.
 
Benavides remains in the Rio Grande Valley after playing at Veterans Memorial High School in Brownsville. Benavides was named the 2018 5A Goalkeeper of the Year and earned Second Team All-District honors in 2019. 
 
Benavides player her club soccer with Brownsville United.
 
Blohowiak comes to UTRGV from after being a three-sport athlete in soccer, volleyball, and track & field at Granbury High School. Blohowiak earned First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region honors in 2019 while also being a three-time Academic All-District honoree. 
 
Blohowiak played her club soccer with Fever United DSC 01.
 
Brouse joins the Vaqueros after playing at Saint Dominic Savio Catholic School where she was named to the Second Team All-Conference as a junior and the First Team All-Conference as a senior. Brouse guided her team to the playoffs in her sophomore season while earning All-Conference honorable mention honors and finished second in the league in scoring. 
 
Brouse played her club soccer with Lonestar U19 Developmental Team.
 
Colon comes to the program from Miami, Florida where she played soccer at Archbishop McCarthy helping her team finish runner up in the 4A state tournament. Colon earned Broward County 5A-4A girls' soccer honorable mention.
 
Colon played her club soccer with Sunrise Prime ECNL. Colon was also a member of the Dominican Republic U20 Women's National Team, where she helped her team reach the semifinals of the CONCACAF U20 Women's Championship and starting all but one game on their historic run.
 
Groedem joins UTRGV from Odense, Denmark where she was a member of the Denmark National U14, U16, and U17 teams. Groedem was named tournament MVP at the U17 European Championship qualifiers. 
 
Hammond comes to the Rio Grande Valley from Nashville, Tennessee where she played at Independence High School. Hammond earned First Team All-State honors while being named District 12 Most Valuable Defensive Player twice. 
 
Hammond played her club soccer with Tennessee Soccer Club ECNL and is part of the Olympic Development Program state team. 
 
Hernandez joins the program after playing four years at McAllen Memorial High School. Hernandez was named team captain in her junior and senior seasons while earning All-District honorable mention honors as a freshman and All-District Second Team honors as a sophomore and junior. 
 
Lillemae comes to UTRGV from Viljandi, Estonia where she played in both the European and World Cup qualifying tournaments with the Estonia Women's National Team while being a regular starter. 
 
Lillemae played with FC Flora in the UEFA Champions League helping the team the Estonian Championship in 2019 while also earning the 2019 Best Young Estonian Player. Lillemae also made appearances with the U17 and U20 Estonia National Team. 
 
Originally from Bloomfield, Michigan, Von Moeller played for Lutheran Northwest High School where she earned Lutheran All-American First Team honors in 2016 while also earning First Team All-Conference and All-State honorable mention honors. 
 
Von Moeller was a member of the Nationals FC in the United States Development Academy in which she helped reach the national semifinals in 2019.
 
Originally from Amarillo, Reynosa joins the Vaqueros after spending the last two years with the Houston Dash US Development Academy team. Reynosa spent her first two years of high school at Amarillo High School where she helped her team reach the playoffs in 2017. 
 
Rodriguez joins the program after starting four years at Georgetown Eastview High School in Austin. Throughout her high school career, Rodriguez earned All-District Newcomer award, Outstanding Offense & Lead Goal Scorer award, and the Most Outstanding Soccer Player award. 
 
Rodriguez played her club soccer with Austin Lonestar and is also a member of the South Texas Olympic Development Program.  
 
Swift comes to UTRGV after playing two seasons at South Carolina State where she played in a combined 29 matches.
Originally from San Diego, California, Swift played four years at Olympian High School where she was the team MVP and leading goal scorer in her sophomore, junior and senior years. Swift earned First Team All-League honors during her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns.
 
The Vaqueros' 2020 recruiting class was signed before the NCAA's dead period for National Letters of Intent that started on March 16.