soccerNM.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The two most-fertile recruiting grounds for the New Mexico women has proven to be here at home and coach Kit Vela's old stomping grounds of California.

That strategy proved to be successful enough to land UNM its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, so the Lobos went back to what made them successful when it came time to add more players for the upcoming season.

New Mexico snagged four players from the Albuquerque metro area and hoped to unearth some gold nuggets from the five players snared from California.

"This is a very, very talented group," Vela said. "They will give us threat, depth, and width. They are going to give us a lot of ability to be creative with our lineup and make us better in the future."

As always, the chance to expand the number of New Mexicans on the roster is always a benefit to the program, she said.

"We are very excited about having more local flavor on the roster," Vela said. "There are some very talented players in New Mexico."

That local group includes Elizabeth Hemminger and Cassandra Ulrich, both of whom are from Rio Rancho and played at Cleveland and Rio Rancho highs. Hope Christian graduate Angela Lee and Sandia Prep Amelia Statkus round out the NM contingent.

It's a strong group, but one that will likely bide its time learning the system as NM returns a loaded squad.

The incoming Californians are Alexis Leyba of Long Beach, Madison Shipherd of La Serna, Natalie Zeenni of Arcadia, Brianna Martinez of Vista ande Madisyn Olgiun of Perris.

Again, it's an impressive haul of athletes who possess the blue-collar work ethic that Vela prizes. Should all nine players remain through their senior seasons, the Lobos will remain extremely competitive for years to come.