Griz add three transfers for 2023
2/16/2023 10:25:00 AM | Soccer
The Montana soccer program has added three transfers to its roster for the 2023 season, with players from Georgia, Bucknell and Regis all signing scholarship agreements.
Coach Chris Citowicki, who will be entering his sixth season with the Grizzlies in the fall, added high-scoring forwards Audrey Teague (Regis) and Abby Gearhart (Bucknell), and a high-level defender in Mia Parkhurst (Georgia).
"We wanted to add these transfers to our roster to increase the depth of competition in certain spots," Citowicki said. "That extra push should allow for a higher level of play and better performances overall."
Teague, a 5-foot-8 forward, will be a fifth-year player after spending four seasons at Regis, a Division II school in Denver.
In 58 matches played for the Rangers, she scored 23 goals and added six assists for teams that went 39-21-6. She scored eight goals as a freshman, seven as a junior, seven as a senior, with just one match played as a sophomore during the COVID spring season of 2021. Naturally, she scored in that match.
Teague, who is from the high-elevation mountain town of Edwards, Colo., was second-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as a junior and senior.
"Her film caught us by surprise. There is something special about Audrey. The quality of finishing, the movement off the ball and her confidence were things that really stood out," said Citowicki.
"Once she visited, we knew that we had found a great player and also a great person whose maturity and experience will help the squad."
Gearhart, a 5-foot-4 forward, is from Windsor, Colo., and played four years at Bucknell in Pennsylvania. She totaled 14 career goals and seven assists, with 11 of her goals coming as a junior and senior as the Bison twice advanced to the NCAA tournament out of the Patriot League.
She was voted third-team All-Patriot League as a junior, first-team as a senior when she tied for second in the conference with six goals. Five of her goals were game-winners, a total that tied for 13th nationally.
She played in 54 matches at Bucknell, making 52 starts. She started and played 61 minutes in November when Bucknell lost 1-0 in double overtime at Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
She will be a fifth-year player for the Grizzlies.
"Abby is an impact player whose work ethic is through the roof and the type of person who can win you championships," Citowicki said. "We cannot wait to add her to the team this fall."
Parkhurst, a 5-foot-8 defender from Atherton, Calif., who will be a junior in the fall, was recruited by Montana while she was playing for the De Anza Force Soccer Club. She ultimately chose the Bulldogs over the Grizzlies.
She played in four matches at Georgia as a freshman in 2021, didn't see the field last fall as the Bulldogs went 13-6-3 and made the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection.
"I remember recruiting Mia when she was in high school. When she called to tell us about her decision to go to Georgia, it was a shame to lose her but I couldn't fault her for wanting to join a great SEC program," Citowicki said.
"Years later she has decided to transfer to Montana and I couldn't be more excited about it. Mia will be a great addition to our back line. I can't wait to bring her competitive and professional personality into our program."
Montana has won two regular-season Big Sky Conference championships in five seasons under Citowicki and three times has advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Coach Chris Citowicki, who will be entering his sixth season with the Grizzlies in the fall, added high-scoring forwards Audrey Teague (Regis) and Abby Gearhart (Bucknell), and a high-level defender in Mia Parkhurst (Georgia).
"We wanted to add these transfers to our roster to increase the depth of competition in certain spots," Citowicki said. "That extra push should allow for a higher level of play and better performances overall."
Teague, a 5-foot-8 forward, will be a fifth-year player after spending four seasons at Regis, a Division II school in Denver.
In 58 matches played for the Rangers, she scored 23 goals and added six assists for teams that went 39-21-6. She scored eight goals as a freshman, seven as a junior, seven as a senior, with just one match played as a sophomore during the COVID spring season of 2021. Naturally, she scored in that match.
Teague, who is from the high-elevation mountain town of Edwards, Colo., was second-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as a junior and senior.
"Her film caught us by surprise. There is something special about Audrey. The quality of finishing, the movement off the ball and her confidence were things that really stood out," said Citowicki.
"Once she visited, we knew that we had found a great player and also a great person whose maturity and experience will help the squad."
Gearhart, a 5-foot-4 forward, is from Windsor, Colo., and played four years at Bucknell in Pennsylvania. She totaled 14 career goals and seven assists, with 11 of her goals coming as a junior and senior as the Bison twice advanced to the NCAA tournament out of the Patriot League.
She was voted third-team All-Patriot League as a junior, first-team as a senior when she tied for second in the conference with six goals. Five of her goals were game-winners, a total that tied for 13th nationally.
She played in 54 matches at Bucknell, making 52 starts. She started and played 61 minutes in November when Bucknell lost 1-0 in double overtime at Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
She will be a fifth-year player for the Grizzlies.
"Abby is an impact player whose work ethic is through the roof and the type of person who can win you championships," Citowicki said. "We cannot wait to add her to the team this fall."
Parkhurst, a 5-foot-8 defender from Atherton, Calif., who will be a junior in the fall, was recruited by Montana while she was playing for the De Anza Force Soccer Club. She ultimately chose the Bulldogs over the Grizzlies.
She played in four matches at Georgia as a freshman in 2021, didn't see the field last fall as the Bulldogs went 13-6-3 and made the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection.
"I remember recruiting Mia when she was in high school. When she called to tell us about her decision to go to Georgia, it was a shame to lose her but I couldn't fault her for wanting to join a great SEC program," Citowicki said.
"Years later she has decided to transfer to Montana and I couldn't be more excited about it. Mia will be a great addition to our back line. I can't wait to bring her competitive and professional personality into our program."
Montana has won two regular-season Big Sky Conference championships in five seasons under Citowicki and three times has advanced to the NCAA tournament.
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