Western Kentucky women’s soccer coach Jason Neidell has added four more early signees to the roster in addition to the seven previously announced players.
Ashley Kobylinski (Mesa, Ariz.), Afton Schraml (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Emily Speidel (Carmel, Ind.) and Sydney Ernst (St. Louis) are set to join the Lady Toppers, with all four set for roles in the defensive half of the field. Speidel and Ernst are both defenders, while Kobylinski and Schraml are goalkeepers.
Ashley Kobylinski – Goalkeeper
Mesa, Ariz.
Kobylinski has spent time with Arizona’s ODP team in both 2017 and 2018, including captaining the squad during a trip to Paris to represent the United States.
Kobylinski’s club squad, AZ Arsenal, has been ranked first in Arizona, second regionally and fourth nationally during her time with the team.
In high school, Kobylinski played girls’ soccer three years at Gilbert High School under coach Ben Holzer and was also a four-year letterwinner in track and field.
Afton Schraml – Goalkeeper
Colorado Springs, Colo.
As a three-year starter under coach Gary Douglass at Liberty High School, Schraml was named Second Team All-City in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and claimed the honor of being named to the Academic All-State First Team in 2018-19. Schraml was also a member of the Lancers team that received the Academic Team Championship award in 2018-19.
Emily Speidel – Defender
Carmel, Ind.
Beginning at Carmel United SC where she was a member of two state championship teams, Speidel then moved on to FC Pride, where she won an additional two state championships, the U.S. Club National Championship in 2014 and a USYS National League divisional championship in 2017.
A four-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Carmel High School under coach Frank Dixon, Speidel has twice been honored as an Indiana Soccer Coaches’ Association All-State selection, earning second-team honors in 2017 before following up with first-team accolades in 2018. After captaining the Greyhounds to the 2018 Indiana 3A state championship, Speidel was selected to the 2018 High School All-American Game representing the West Team. In addition, she was selected to the United Soccer Coaches’ All-Central Region Team and received the prestigious honor of landing a spot on the organization’s All-American Team.
Speidel closed her high school career with 13 goals and 14 assists in 75 matches played for Carmel.
Sydney Ernst – Defender
St. Louis
Ernst has been a member of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club since 2014 and has reached the ECNL national playoffs in each of the last four seasons. Ernst has also been named to the Player Development Program, in which she competed in 2014-15, and to the U.S. Soccer Training Program in 2015-16.
In high school, Ernst has been a member of the squad at St. Joseph’s Academy, a nationally-ranked high school program, and has excelled in the classroom as well as on the field, being named to St. Joseph’s Academy honor roll every year since 2015.
