Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Paule Adds Four, Boosting 2023 Signing Class to 10
12/19/2022 11:15:00 AM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton women's soccer head coach Ross Paule boosted the 2023 signing class to 10 on Monday, December 19 with the addition of twin sisters Maia and Shani Sirota, Ole Miss transfer Stella Downing and Serbian native Anja Jestrovic.
"We are very excited about our new signees," said Paule. "Each addition brings key pieces that will make us better and continue to raise standards both on and off the pitch."
Originally from Raanana, Israel, the Sirota sisters come to Creighton after spending the past three seasons with the Israel Youth National Team, where they most recently served on the Israel U-19 National Team at the European Women's Championships. While with the Israel U-19 National Team, Maia and Shani also played club soccer for HapoelRaanana since 2017. In 2018, the duo helped guide the club to the U-19 National Cup Title while scoring a combined 15 goals over the course of the season.
During the 2019-20 season, Shani was voted as the teams Most Valuable Player after touching the back of the net 16 times on the way to leading Hapoel Raanana to the Israeli U-19 League Championship. The sisters also helped lead HapoelRaanana to the semifinals of the U-19 Israeli National Cup in 2022, while also helping Hapoel Petah Tiqva to a runner-up finish at the National Athena Cup this past summer.
Downing, a Vancouver, Canada native, comes to Creighton after spending the previous two season at Ole Miss. While with the Rebels, Downing appeared in 41 matches, logging a combined 1,659 minutes and three assists. As a sophomore, Downing helped the Rebels to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for just the third time in school history.
Prior to her time at Ole Miss, Downing played one season at Memphis, where she was teammates with current Bluejay Lara Kazandjian. While with the Tigers, Downing appeared in all 12 matches of the shorten COVID season, tallying two assists and five total shots while helping Memphis to the NCAA Tournament.
Before arriving at Memphis, Downing graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary School in Vancouver, Canada. Representing her home country, Downing played on the Canadian U-17 National Team, earning a bronze medal after drawing her first international cap and start against Team USA in the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship match.
Jestrovic, a native of Serbia, comes to Creighton after serving as the team captain for the Serbian U-19 National Team this past season. An attacking midfielder, Jestrovic scored a goal and dished out two assists to lead Serbia to a 2-0-1 record during the first round draws of the 2022/23 UEFA European Women's U-19 Championships this fall.
Prior to serving as the team captain of the U-19 Team, Jestrovic was a two-year starter for the Serbian's U-17 National Team. Jestrovic has also played at the club level for ZFK Crvena Zvezda, one of the top clubs in the country, in the Superliga league.
The Sirota twins and Downing will join Andrine Westlie (Sandvika, Norway) and the rest of the Bluejays on the pitch this upcoming spring while Jestrovic will join the 2023 signing class of Savanna Solomon (Papillion, Neb.) Kelly Flores (Hanover Park, Ill.), Keaton Coad (Olathe, Kan.), Tejia Murray-Powell (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) and Kendal Radke (Overland Park, Kan.) on the pitch for the Bluejays next season.
"We are very excited about our new signees," said Paule. "Each addition brings key pieces that will make us better and continue to raise standards both on and off the pitch."
Originally from Raanana, Israel, the Sirota sisters come to Creighton after spending the past three seasons with the Israel Youth National Team, where they most recently served on the Israel U-19 National Team at the European Women's Championships. While with the Israel U-19 National Team, Maia and Shani also played club soccer for HapoelRaanana since 2017. In 2018, the duo helped guide the club to the U-19 National Cup Title while scoring a combined 15 goals over the course of the season.
During the 2019-20 season, Shani was voted as the teams Most Valuable Player after touching the back of the net 16 times on the way to leading Hapoel Raanana to the Israeli U-19 League Championship. The sisters also helped lead HapoelRaanana to the semifinals of the U-19 Israeli National Cup in 2022, while also helping Hapoel Petah Tiqva to a runner-up finish at the National Athena Cup this past summer.
Downing, a Vancouver, Canada native, comes to Creighton after spending the previous two season at Ole Miss. While with the Rebels, Downing appeared in 41 matches, logging a combined 1,659 minutes and three assists. As a sophomore, Downing helped the Rebels to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for just the third time in school history.
Prior to her time at Ole Miss, Downing played one season at Memphis, where she was teammates with current Bluejay Lara Kazandjian. While with the Tigers, Downing appeared in all 12 matches of the shorten COVID season, tallying two assists and five total shots while helping Memphis to the NCAA Tournament.
Before arriving at Memphis, Downing graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary School in Vancouver, Canada. Representing her home country, Downing played on the Canadian U-17 National Team, earning a bronze medal after drawing her first international cap and start against Team USA in the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship match.
Jestrovic, a native of Serbia, comes to Creighton after serving as the team captain for the Serbian U-19 National Team this past season. An attacking midfielder, Jestrovic scored a goal and dished out two assists to lead Serbia to a 2-0-1 record during the first round draws of the 2022/23 UEFA European Women's U-19 Championships this fall.
Prior to serving as the team captain of the U-19 Team, Jestrovic was a two-year starter for the Serbian's U-17 National Team. Jestrovic has also played at the club level for ZFK Crvena Zvezda, one of the top clubs in the country, in the Superliga league.
The Sirota twins and Downing will join Andrine Westlie (Sandvika, Norway) and the rest of the Bluejays on the pitch this upcoming spring while Jestrovic will join the 2023 signing class of Savanna Solomon (Papillion, Neb.) Kelly Flores (Hanover Park, Ill.), Keaton Coad (Olathe, Kan.), Tejia Murray-Powell (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) and Kendal Radke (Overland Park, Kan.) on the pitch for the Bluejays next season.
Players Mentioned
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