North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Soccer Announces 2012 Signing Class
2/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Feb. 13, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. – Eight student-athletes have signed letters of intent to join the NC State women’s soccer squad for the 2012 season, head coach Steve Springthorpe announced today.
“After losing six senior starters in the fall we were left with some needs,” explained Springthorpe. “Our staff tried to identify with this class some attacking personalities that we ultimately lost to graduation.
“I think one of the things you see in this class is we’ve become bigger in size and faster, we are more athletic in some areas and we’ve tried to identify players that want to get forward and attack creating more opportunities for our team.
“We started locally making sure we are getting the best players in North Carolina and showing them that NC State is a great place to be.”
Four of the eight come from the immediate Triangle area with two from Raleigh – Caroline Gentry and Madison Shaw, while the other two from neighboring Durham in Shannon Cleaver and Sydney Sawaya.
“We’ve got a little pipeline going into Pennsylvania after bringing in Shelli (Spamer) and Cheyenne (Spade) last year,” added Springthorpe.” This time around we have a signee from the Philadelphia area.”
Brittany Stanko becomes the third player from the Keystone State to commit to the Wolfpack in the last two signing classes. Stanko comes from Glenmoore, Pa., which is located about an hour west of Philadelphia.
Springthorpe and his staff also went a bit farther north to grab Shannon Colligan from Greenwich, Conn., a high school all-American from the Region I area.
“We’re also starting to hit Virginia as well with this class and even in future classes we’ve got some commitments from some players in that region.”
The duo from the Commonwealth of Virginia hail from the greater-Washington, D.C., area - Dayna Tomayko from Stafford, and Sharon Wojcik from Springfield.
“I think the focus for recruiting will certainly always be nationally based,” said Springthorpe. “We want to find players from all over, but we’re always going to focus on the east coast and that’s going to be where a majority of our players come from - the Region I (Northeast) and Region III (Southeast and Texas/Oklahoma) areas.”


Shannon Cleaver
Durham, N.C. / Durham Academy
High School, Club, and Personal: Played at Durham Academy for coach Susan Ellis … Team captain as a senior … All-conference in 2011 and all-region in 2010 and 2011 … Started 64-of-66 games and scored 21 goals in route to a 49-12-5 high school record … Member of the Super Y U-20 National Championship club in 2011 … 2008 NCISAA 3A Runner-Up with Durham Academy … Member of the 2010 TISAC Championship team … Played for Triangle United ‘93 gold for four years, Triangle Futbol Club ‘93 navy region III for one season and was the 2011 State Cup runner-up for NC Fusion … Played for the Triangle United ‘92 gold region III for one season … Two-year varsity letterwinner in basketball as a point guard … Was the Co-Director of SOCK Camp (non-profit, summer camp for underprivileged youth in Durham) … Earned academic honors all four years at Durham Academy … Father played baseball at Florida Atlantic University.
Coach Springthorpe on Cleaver: “A solid defensive player that we found in the recruiting process. She’s going to be a center back for us after seeing her play that position with her club team. She’s a solid; good size center back with good athleticism. She can pick up the ball and will go forward out of that position. I think over the course of time, she’s going to develop into a very, very good player for us.”
Shannon Colligan
Greenwich, Conn. / Greenwich High School
High School, Club, and Personal: 2011 NSCAA High School All-American … 2012 ESPN Gatorade Player of the Year nominee … MVP of 2011 Connecticut Senior Bowl Game … 2011 MSG Varsity’s Connecticut Player of the Year … Named all-state and first team All-FCIAC three times (2009-11) … Named All-Region by NSCAA in 2010 and 2011 … Played club for U-17 CT ODP, U-17 Region I Team and Eastern FC … Scored game-winning goal in 2009 US Club National Championship game … Led Greenwich to a 48-14-15 record … Scored 59 goals final three seasons … School’s single-season and career scoring leader … Also a four-year starter in lacrosse at Greenwich … AP Scholar and Academic Honor Roll selection … Father played hockey at Dartmouth … Four-year letterwinner at Greenwich HS for coach Danny Simpson.
Coach Springthorpe on Colligan: “Shannon comes into our program with a lot of accolades. She’s a high school All-American and a Region I ODP team member. I think she will give us an opportunity right away to score some goals and create more chances for our team. She is a target forward we’ve been seeking over the last couple of years that will allow us to improve our possession-oriented style of play. Shannon’s a prototypical target player that can possess the ball for us and finish her opportunities.”
Caroline Gentry
Raleigh, N.C. / Leesville Road High School
High School, Club, and Personal: Three-year letterwinner for coach Paul Dinkenor … Compiled 66 goals and 70 assists to date with her senior season left to play … Has led Leesville Road to a pair of high school state championships in 2009 and 2011 … Named to 2011 Girls High School All-American Team by the NSCAA … 2011 North Carolina Player of the Year by NC Coaches Association … Played with CASL program for over 10 years, including the Chelsea Ladies from 2009-12 … National Honor Society member … Brothers Taylor and Zach have played football at NC State.
Coach Springthorpe on Gentry: “She’s obviously well known for her soccer around here playing for CASL and winning a couple state championships at Leesville Road. Caroline is a great athlete, has great size and is a goal scorer. We identified Caroline when she was a freshman and we worked really hard to keep her here because of the relationship with her family and NC State. At that first high school game I watched, I knew at that moment she would be a potential impact player for us.”
Sydney Sawaya
Durham, N.C. / Charles E. Jordan
High School, Club and Personal: Three-year letterwinner for Charles E. Jordan HS for coaches Sarah Kaneko and Don Jones …Competed four years with CASL, Triangle United for two years, Chapel Hill United for two years and Durham Chapel Hill Strikers for two years … 2008 Region III Premier East champions and the 2008 North Carolina State champions … 2008 Score at the Shore Finalist and 2008 Disney Showcase Finalists … 2009 NC State Cup finalist and 2009 Region III quarterfinalists … Brother, Ryan, is attending NC State.
Coach Springthorpe on Sawaya: “Sydney’s a player who will play either center back or defensive center mid. Those are really going to be the two positions that I think she’ll fit in best. She will give us potential starting ability, but certainly some depth we will need in those positions. I think she will help us right away with her aggressive defensive style.”
Madison Shaw
Raleigh, N.C. / Wakefield High School
High School, Club, and Personal: Four-year varsity goalkeeper for Wakefield HS for coach Derek Williams … Captain of 2012 team … Led team to 2011 CAP-8 Conference Tournament championship … Played on the ‘93 CASL Chelsea Ladies for eight seasons … Was the Region III Premier League East Champions and NCYSA State Cup Champions … NCSYSA State Cup Champions … Cap-7 All-Region in 2008 and Cap-7 All-Conference in 2009 … Cap-8 All-Conference, all-region and all-state in 2011 … National Honors Society member … Academic All-Conference in 2009 and 2011 … Older sister, Meredith, also attends NC State.
Coach Springthorpe on Shaw: “Maddy is a keeper we identified a few years ago. She came to camp and made an immediate impression. Her strength and size at 5-10 allows her the ability to really hit the ball a great distance. I think that she’ll come to our program and improve her skill and give us an opportunity to have another player we feel like we can develop into a starter in a short period of time.”
Brittany Stanko
Glenmoore, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan
High School, Club, and Personal: Named to ODP Region 1 Pennsylvania State Team from 2009-11 … Member of ODP Region I National Championship Team in 2010 and ODP Region I Regional Team from 2010-11 … 2011 Region I ODP National Camp … Played for 93 Penn Fusion ECNL (2010-12) and 93 FC Delco Red Bull National League Team (2008-09) … Top Drawer Soccer Players to Watch … Four-year starter for Bishop Shanahan for coaches Peter Rohall and Mark Farra … Led team in scoring on three occasions … Selected by ESPN a Top 11 Standout in District 1 … Three-year All-Chesmont League and All-Distict I award winner … Made first team all-league and all-area in 2011 … Led Bishop Shanahan to best SE Penn., ranking (8th) in school history … Scored the tying goal against #2 seed Downingtown East in 2011 playoffs and won the game in penalty kicks … Also played one varsity basketball season as a point guard … Grandfather, George, attended Villanova on a full basketball scholarship … Father played baseball at Valencia College.
Coach Springthorpe on Stanko: “Brittany is a great athlete with speed and a great fitness level. She has national ODP camp experience and possesses athletic ability that will help our team become faster and more dynamic. I think she’s going to have the ability to play multiple positions for us depending on what formations we are playing. I expect her to make an immediate impact.”
Dayna Tomayko
Stafford, Va. / Mountain View High School
High School, Club, and Personal: Dayna Marie Tomayko … Three-year varsity midfielder for coach Steven Cassiday … Team captain in 2011 … Named all-district (2009-11), all-area (2010-11) and all-region in 2011 … All-State Honorable Mention in 2011 … Played for Virginia District, State and Region 1 ODP from 2006-11 … FC Virginia Cardinals from 2009-11 … ODP National Camp in 2011 … Super Y Nationals in 2006-07… Played for Red Bull/ECNL National League from 2008-12 … ECNL All-Event Team in Sanford, Fla., in 2012 … Golden Boot Award winner in 2011 … Sports editor for school newspaper.
Coach Springthorpe on Tomayko: “Dayna’s got all sorts of great accolades - ODP, region teams, and is one of the best athletes in this class. She possesses quickness, speed, and has played multiple positions for ODP and club. When we started recruiting her she was a forward, but all along we saw her potential to play multiple positions. I think we will see her transition to an outside defender. This will help our team get more offensive attacks from the back. I expect her to make an immediate impact.”
Sharon Wojcik
Springfield, Va. / Lake Braddock
High School, Club, and Personal: Sharon Hyoshim Wojcik … Played for Lake Braddock High School for three seasons under coach Adam Soos … Scored 37 goals in three seasons (16 as a freshman, seven as a sophomore and 14 as a junior) … Led squad to Patriot District Championship, scoring both goals in a win over South County … Virginia Patriot District, Group 3A, first team selection and all-district forward in 2011 … Virginia Group 3A All-Northern Region team in 2011 … Virginia HS Coaches Association All-State Honorable Mention in 2011 … All-Met Honorable Mention by the Washington Post in 2011 … Played on the Braddock Road Santos from 2003-08, the Washington Freedom from 2009-2010 and currently plays for the McLean Strikers since 2009 … Scored a combined 113 goals in high school and club … Led the McLean Strikers to two titles: Virginia State Cup (2009) and Regional I Championship (2010) … And to a National Finalist finish in 2010 with the Strikers … Scored once in the SYL/North American championship game victory with the Washington Freedom … Led Braddock Road Santos to the Virginia State Cup finals in 2007 and 2008… SYL ODP National Camp Select Team in Tampa, Fla., in March 2010 … VA ODP State Pool, 2007-08 … Athletic Honor Roll for three years.
Coach Springthorpe on Wojcik: “Sharon is a really skilled player, possibly the most technical player that we have in this class and could be one of the most technical players that we have on this team. We saw her a few years ago playing in a number of different events and the thing that we liked about her was when she’s playing center mid she has the technical ability to dribble at speed, take on players, and create havoc for defenders. She is another player that will help out team play a possession style of play. Sharon has all the tools to be an immediate impact player.”
