MIAMI (July 17, 2017) -- A second crop of recruits for FIU women's soccer Head Coach Sharolta Nonen and staff has resulted in four new future Panthers heading to Miami this summer. Midfielders Lillie Della Penna, Lauren Hinton and Asha James, as well as goalkeeper Hanna Rizzi will appear on the FIU roster this August.
 
"The number-one thing that stands out about this group is that they play with heart and intensity," said Nonen. "They chase every ball down and love to play. That, alone, excites me. They will come in with a willingness to work and we can make faster improvements when players come in with that attitude and mindset."
 
Della Penna comes from Seminole, Florida, just outside of Tampa, and earned four letters for the Seminole High Warhawks, winning most improved player in 2015, midfielder of the year in 2016 and the Coaches Award in 2017. Seminole was 8-5 last season. Her club team, the Tampa Bay United, took the State Championship of Florida in 2016 and 2017. They finished 12-8-2 last spring. Her aspiration is to be an art major.
 
Texas' Lauren Hinton played both the defender and midfield positions at McMillen and Plano East High Schools. After missing her junior season due to injury, she was a captain for Plano East as a senior, earning a second-team all-district level in the 6A classification. She was first-team all-district as a freshman and sophomore at McMillen High. The Parker, Texas, native played for the D'Feeters U18 soccer club last year after playing on the U16, U15 and U14 Dallas Texans club teams. She also featured on the McMillen track team, competing in the long jump and as a member of the 400m relay team. She plans to major in international business or political science, with plans to work in international affairs.
 
James comes to FIU from Canaan, on the island of Tobago. She played at the Signal Hill Secondary School, where she competed on the soccer, cricket and track teams. She was the 2013 and 2016 player of the year, scoring the most goals in prep school in 2016, which earned her MVP honors. She was selected as the 2015 cricketer of the year. Signal Hill earned Tobago league and Intercol Championships and she was the MVP of the U19 team last year. Her plan is to major in biology, and pursue a professional soccer career.
 
Rizzi hails from Neuilly Sur Seine, just west of Paris, France. She has been playing soccer for the past 10 seasons, competing for the French Cup in June of 2016 and 2017, while also competing for the Gothia Cup (the largest international youth soccer tournament) in 2014. She comes to Miami from ASA College in Brooklyn, playing junior college soccer in the spring of 2017. Rizzi played on the l'Olympique de Neuilly men's program and three-time champion Paris Saint-Germain FC. She was selected as the best youth goalkeeper in France in 2013. She plans on majoring in pre-med, with the goal of becoming a doctor, following in the footsteps of her mother.
 
These four combine with the four previous signees to join the 18 returning players on the 2017 edition of the Panthers, with a new coaching staff and resurfaced grass pitch. FIU preseason camp begins in August and the 33^rd season of Division I soccer at FIU starts in late August.
 
For women's soccer ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women's soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.