OREM—Utah Valley University women's soccer head coach Chris Lemay has announced that Melbourne, Australia product Layla Lopez and San Diego native Miaya Sykes have signed national letters of intent and play for the Wolverines.
 
"We are very excited about our small but talented incoming 2021 class," said Lemay. "We have had two large classes in a row in 2019 and 2020 so by design we knew that we were looking for quality as opposed to quantity in 2021. We needed to add depth in the back line as well as another attacking threat and we achieved that in brining Layla and Miaya into the team."
 
Lopez, a 5-foot-4 defender, prepped at Maribyrnong Secondary in Melbourne where she led her team to three titles at the School Sports Victoria Soccer Women's Intermediate and Secondary tournament. Lopez earned the Academic Excellence Award at Maribyrnong and had the highest grade-point average for visual communication and design. Lopez played for the Victoria National team in 2017 and played club soccer for Calder United.
 
"Layla (Lopez) can play as a wide or central defender," said Lemay. "She is composed on the ball and has great technical skills as well as an excellent tactical understanding of the game. We are excited about her grit and completeness. We are also looking forward to the diversity she will bring to the program and different ideas as she is our first player from Australia."
 
Sykes is a 5-foot-2 forward/midfielder at Olympian High School in Chula Vista, Calif.  Sykes has recorded 34 points with 16 goals and a pair of assists during her time at OHS, earning all-league honors for her play. She has also attended Audeo High School in San Diego and played club soccer for Rebels SC.
 
"Miaya can play as an attacking central midfielder or wide forward," said Lemay. "Miaya's defining quality is her ability to beat players off the dribble. She is deadly in one-on-one situations and will bring some real flare to our attach. Miaya is a product of a very strong San Diego youth Club Rebels SC that competes in the ECNL."
 
Lopez and Sykes will join the Wolverines for the 2021 fall season.