Bronx, N.Y. – (July 2, 2025) – With a new season on the horizon, Fordham women's soccer head coach
Magnus Nilerud announced the addition of nine student athletes for the 2025 season.
This year's class includes
Salma Simonin (Manchester, England/Loreto (Baylor),
Olivia Vricella (Medford, N.J./Shawnee (La Salle)),
Scarlett Cofie (Gravesend, England/Rochester),
Caroline Kelleher (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy),
Renata Mercedes (Santo Domingo, D.R./The Taft School (CT)),
Cecilie Mossing (Skive, Denmark/Skive),
Kit Ovsievsky (Cary, N.C./Cary Academy),
Sarah Quinn (Leicestershire, U.K./Lutterworth), and
Lucy Rios (San Francisco, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep).
A 5-6 midfielder, Simonin joined the team last spring after two seasons with the women's soccer team at Baylor University. She appeared in 17 matches, making eight starts for the Bears. She scored three goals, all of which came during the 2023 season. Prior to Baylor, Simonin split her high school career between Loreto College and St. Bedes College in Manchester, England. She played for one of the top premier league clubs for ten years in Liverpool FC and Manchester City Football club and was a member of the England Youth National Team. She played in four international tournaments, including the Irene Gonzalez Basanta Cup in Spain, the Madrid Football Cup in Spain, the Lennart Johnson Academy Trophy in Sweden and the World Futsal Cup in Spain.
Vricella, a 5-5 defender, comes to Rose Hill as a graduate student after playing four seasons at La Salle University. A multiple time member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, she appeared in 47 games for the Explorers, serving as a starting defender the last two seasons (37 starts). She totaled six assists, which included a career-high four in 2024. Before La Salle, Vricella was a four-year soccer player at Shawnee High School in New Jersey, where she was a team captain and Second Team All-Conference selection. She played club for SJEB Rush 03. In the classroom, she was a member of the National Honor Society and Dean's List at Shawnee High School, while being a part of the Academic Honors Society at La Salle.
A 5-10 defender, Cofie split her academic career between Rochester Grammar School and St. John's Catholic Comprehensive. She played club soccer for Charlton Athletic, which was a League Cup finalist in 2023 and 2024 after being a National Championship finalist and Regional Cup winner in 2021. She was also a part of Billericay FC, which won the County Cup, Isthmian Cup, and Combined County Cup in 2025. Cofie was also a two-time recipient of the Andy Bradley Sporting Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025.
Kelleher is a 5-8 forward, who was a multi-sport athlete at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, competing in soccer, lacrosse, and tennis. A four-year member of the soccer team, she was team captain as a senior, leading the team to its first NEPSAC Class A Championship in 13 years and finished as the team's leader in points, goals, and assists. She was named to the NESJ Best XI, as one of the top players in the NEPSAC for 2024, while earning United Soccer Coaches All-State and All-New England honors, as well as All-NEPSAC Class A accolades. In the classroom, Kelleher received All-Scholastic honors from the Boston Globe and was a member of the Dean's List. She competed in club soccer for FC Stars ECNL White, where she was a national champion and team captain at the National Cup in 2021. After being a 2023 New England Top 100 nominee, she was a 2024 ECNL U17 New England All-Conference performer and helped her squad to the ECNL North American Cup semifinals.
A 5-7 midfielder, Mercedes was a four-year soccer player at The Taft School in Connecticut. She served as team captain as a senior and was a two-time All-Founders League selection. She was also a Western New England Prep School All-Star. Mercedes played club soccer for Connecticut FC and was captain for the U17 Dominican Republic National Team, which competed at the 2024 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup and earned Player of the Match for the game against Nigeria. She later became the youngest player to debut for the Senior National Team.
Mossing, 5-8 forward, attended Skive College in Denmark, where she played soccer for Skive IK. She earned the senior ladies "Talent of the Year" award during the 2022-23 season. Mossing was also voted as the Player of the Match by her teammates the most times out of any player.
Ovsievsky, a 5-7 defender, is a graduate of Cary Academy in North Carolina, where she served as team captain of the soccer team in her final season and was a multiple-time member of the Dean's Academic Honor Roll. She spent six years playing club soccer for 2007 NC Courage Academy, which won the 2023 U20 USL Championship and advanced to the U17 Nationals Knockout Round in 2024.
A 5-9 midfielder, Quinn is a graduate of Lutterworth High School in the United Kingdom, playing soccer and serving as team captain from 2021-23. In the classroom, she received the Excellence Across the Curriculum Award in 2023. For club play, Quinn was a part of Leicester City Women's Football U21 and the England College Football Association (ECFA). She won the 2024 U21s National Plate Championship and County Championship in 2024, while also helping her team win the ECFA Italia International Tournament.
Rios, a 5-8 defender, was a varsity soccer player at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, where she was a two-time Team Defensive Player of the Year (2022-23), after earning WCAL All-League First Team honors in each of those seasons. Rios split her club play between MVLA and FCBA Bay Area Surf. With MVLA, she finished in the top three in the ECNL NorCal League, making it to the ECNL national playoffs Sweet 16 and Elite 8, and finished ranked in the top ten in the nation. As a member of Bay Area Surf, she placed first in the ECNL NorCal League twice and made the Sweet 16 of the ECNL national playoffs twice.
