Five high school seniors signed their letters of intent to play for Erica Dambach’s perennial Penn State women’s soccer powerhouse program, the team announced Tuesday.

The new Nittany Lions, hailing from the Midwest, New England, and right here in Pennsylvania, will represent Penn State starting in the fall.

Forward Frankee Flesher committed to the blue and white in March of 2022. The speedy winger played club ball for the Cleveland Force and also made strides as the conference MVP for her high school team in Chesterland, Ohio.

Flesher will help fill the gaps on the forward line left by graduates Ally Schlegel, Penelope Hocking, and Rachel Wasserman, along with offensive signee Nicollette Kiorpes.

Worcester, Massachusetts, native Kiorpes played for 10 years with the New England Football Club and was rostered on the United States Youth National Team in the 2022 U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.

Kiorpes scored the lone goal for the United States in the team’s group-stage draw against Brazil in the youth World Cup.

USA STRIKES FIRST!

Nicollette Kiorpes finds the back of the net for the @USYNT pic.twitter.com/qGMw6DbPK7

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 14, 2022

Current Nittany Lions Payton Linnehan, Kate Wiesner, and Cori Dyke have similar experiences as Kiorpes on youth national teams and were most recently called up last February.

Penn State’s third signee, Keegan Schmeiser, is a center-back from Bolingbrook, Illinois. Schmeiser played for Chicago FC for 13 years and has also made appearances with the United States Youth National Team.

Pennsylvania natives Ava Rightmire and Kaelyn Wolfe will also contribute to the Nittany Lions’ defense. Rightmire, a Downingtown West High School senior, was her high school’s two-time defensive MVP and also named a high school All-American in 2022.

Wolfe, a product of Villa Maria Academy, can contribute from just about any position on the pitch. A self-proclaimed forward, midfielder, and defender, Wolfe will most likely fill in on defense for Dambach’s squad. Along with high school ball, Wolfe played for 12 years with Penn Fusion Soccer Academy.

Schmeiser, Rightmire, and Wolfe will bolster a Penn State defense that lost the likes of center-backs Jillian Jennings and Cassie Hiatt following the 2022 season. Now, along with Flesher and Kiorpes, the five 2023 recruits will make their way to Happy Valley with the hopes of defending the team’s Big Ten Tournament Championship.

The Nittany Lions manufactured an impressive 15-5-3 record last season, highlighted by a Big Ten Tournament Championship and an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The 2023 season will kickoff in August.