Cory Tobin will battle for time in the net at UC Irvine. Photo Credit: UC Irvine

College Soccer News: UC Irvine Adds Tobin, Needham and O'Brien to Women’s Roster

The UC Irvine women’s soccer program have kicked off their 2012 recruiting by signing California standouts Corey Tobin, Kalene Needham and Haley O'Brien. Tobin is a goalkeeper out of Orange Lutheran High School in Yorba Linda, Needham is a forward from Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, and O'Brien plays defense at Burroughs High School in Downey. The three will join an Anteaters program that has won consecutive Big West Conference regular season titles and made consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Tobin comes from Orange Lutheran High School, a school that is ranked 68^th in the nation and 37^th in California. The team is 16-6 so far in 2012. Tobin has been in net for 13 of the 16 wins recording eight shutouts along with a .700 goals-against-average and stopping 93 shots. The senior is a three-time all-league and three-time all-county recipient, and as a junior was named all-state.

She spent time on three different club teams including Chelsea (2007-10), Legends FC (2010), and most recently, Beach FC (2010-12) with head coach Steve Soler.

“Corey was the top goalkeeper on our recruiting list for 2012 and we were thrilled that she chose UC Irvine,” said women’s head coach Scott Juniper. “Corey has learned from a lot of the top goalkeeper coaches in So Cal, and we are excited to see her tested every day in the intensity of our training environment. At 5’11”, Corey has all the tools to be a well-rounded goalkeeper and will challenge our returners for the starting spot. Corey will wear the #33 jersey vacated by 2010 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year Danielle deSeriere, who is currently playing professionally in Europe.”

Needham comes from Rim of the World high school, a school that went 16-8-4 in 2011 en route to a league title, where she scored 28 goals and assisted on 14. So far in 2012, the team is 9-8-3. Needham has been instrumental each year earning first team all-league honors three times. As a junior, she added Offensive MVP and All-CIF accolades. Along with soccer, Needham also lettered in volleyball and softball, and has been a three-time scholar-athlete.

Needham played under Josh Hodges at Legends FC (2008-10) and Gus Castaneda at West Coast FC (2010-11), and is currently with Platinum FC under coach Edward Small in the club circuit.

“Kalene is a player who I saw for the first time from a distance across two fields,” Juniper explained.  “She fired a shot from 30 yards into the top corner of the net and it was such a well taken shot I scribbled an URGENT note in my book to find out who she was."

"Since then, I have seen Kalene develop into a fearsome forward who has the potential to become a prolific goal-scorer at the D-I level. She has a big personality and I look forward to seeing how she rises to the next level of intensity in August. If she can work hard every day and stay hungry to score goals, she could make a significant impact as a freshman.”

O’Brien comes from Burroughs High School, a school that is currently 13-7-3 and finished second in the Pacific League in 2011. The talented defender made First Team in the league in 2010 and 2011, as well as league MVP both of those years, and earned Second Team all-area honors in 2010. O'Brien has made waves off the field as well, being a scholar-athlete and a member of the National Honors Society, and taking part in Habitat for Humanity.

In club action, O’Brien was a member of the Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) pool in 2007 in addition to playing with Real So Cal. With Real So Cal, she played under coach Keith West as they won the 2011 Surf Cup.

“Haley played most of her club soccer with Real So Cal for Cal State Northridge Head Coach, Keith West," said Juniper. "Keith does a great job with developing players, so we are thrilled that we are getting a player who has learned from people who know exactly what it takes.

"Haley has an instinct for defending, a blue collar approach to hard work and over the last couple of years she has continued to develop into a player who can play anywhere across the back line. We graduate two starting central defenders and an outside back this year, so Haley will be competing with a number of players for those spots.”

 Related Articles: UC Irvine on SoccerNation