Most coaches will tell you that this year’s recruiting class doesn’t compare to last year’s or even next year’s.

They’ll say 1996 was the best class of blue chips to come out in a long while and 1998 won’t be far behind.

“There are some years when you have these kids and you can say, ‘Okay, they’re going to be great,'” said Harvard coach Tim Wheaton, one of the coaches of the Region I ODP team along with Penn State’s Pat Farmer. “Some are just going to good, solid Division I players.”

It’s not the consensus opinion that ’97 is a down year.

“I don’t know,” Farmer said. “I thought there were a lot of pretty good kids right now.”

One of those is Katie Tracy, the top talent out of Region I. The central midfielder is going to Virginia, where she’s part of a stellar class that includes Tammy Westinghouse from Region IV.

Tracy’s no speedster, but she still earned the most praise from college coaches.

“She’s kind of like [George Washington coach and former North Carolina midfielder] Shannon Higgins,” said Wheaton. “If you can play the ball through her going forward, she plays the ball to where it needs to be. Katie’s a good leader and has good vision.”

Another school with a quality recruiting class is Connecticut, which is seeking to rejoin the final four club of Notre Dame, North Carolina and Portland in 1997.

The “big three” plus UConn formed the NCAA final four in 1994. While the three repeated semifinal appearances in each of the last two years, UConn stayed home.

Looking ahead to the 1997 season, coach Len Tsantiris’ squad will be without four key players — forwards Kerry Connors and Ginny Woodward, defender Tammy Barnes and midfielder Sherry Iacobellis. But a good recruiting class should keep UConn among the elite.

Jennifer Carlson and Lauren Molinaro are two such players. Molinaro is a heady midfielder, whom one Northeast coach described as having the “best soccer brain of any midfielders in the country.”

The speedy, versatile Carlson could play in back or as an outside midfielder, but many coaches rate her as one of the top forwards in the region.

While the Huskies and Virginia are bolstering perennial NCAA tournament programs, Rutgers is just trying to get back to the playoffs.

The Scarlet Knights have only been to the big dance once — in 1987 — despite producing 11 winning seasons and U.S. World Cup ’95 goalie Saskia Webber (1989-92). They were knocking on the door last year — when they beat tournament teams Penn State and James Madison during the regular season — but didn’t get in.

Coach Charlie Duccilli hopes to change that with the addition of forward Shannon Nagle. Though some coaches questioned her selection, saying she has only decent skills along with blazing speed, Duccilli says, “with her speed, athleticism and ability to disrupt defenses, she definitely belongs.”

The title of best goalkeeper in Region I is up for debate, but Kristin Luckenbill got the nod by most coaches. She’s also a good skier and wants to go to a school with a ski program. At press time, she hadn’t yet decided on where she’s going but said she’s looking at some Ivy League schools.

by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz

Soccer America’s Super 11 Recruits (Region I)

Pos. Name Hometown College

M Jennifer Carlson Shelburne, Vt. Connecticut

Wing midfielder or forward, great speed, intensity

G Kristin Luckenbill Paoli, Pa. undecided

Big (5-10), strong, quick, also a top-notch skier

M Lauren Molinaro Ellicott City, Md. Connecticut

Skillful, smart, good first touch, good vision

F Shannon Nagle Macungie, Pa. Rutgers

Fast, tremendous work rate

D Kim Newell Woodbridge, Va. William & Mary

Sweeper, plays balls well out of the back

D Kathleen Shields Brentwood, N.Y. Loyola (Md.)

Another sweeper, outstanding speed, composed

M Meredith Stewart Topsham, Me. Harvard

Fast wing player, technically sound, crosses well

M Katie Tracy Richmond, Va. Virginia

Best player in the region

M Jeannine Verdrager Hauppage, N.Y. Penn State

Central midfielder or defender, good in the air

D Amy Whittier Fairfield, Conn. North Carolina

Fast, tenacious, hard tackler, covers a lot of ground

G Allison Wolff Richmond, Va. Maryland

Best technician among region’s keepers