SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Gearing up for the upcoming season, the Santa Clara women's soccer team welcomes Ellen Gibson from the 2015 signing class to the Broncos' roster. Gibson is from Stockholm, Sweden where she competes at Varmdo Gymnasium in addition to playing with the youth Swedish national team.
"Ellen will be one of the most technical and tactical players on our team, even in her first year," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "Her passion, experience and commitment to development will allow her to add to an already good culture within our program. We look for her to compete for playing time as a holding midfielder or center back."
The Sweden native possesses a bevy of individual and team accolades pertaining to her performance on the pitch. Her squad has captured gold in seven competitions, including a victory at St:Erickcupen, the largest tournament in Stockholm for younger players, and five first-place finishes at the Futsal Swedish Championships, a competition held both indoors and outdoors. Competing at the Gothia Cup, she helped her squad win two silver medals and two bronzes.
Gibson has been able to carry her success to the international level, playing in 14 matches for the Swedish youth national team to date. She captained the Swedish to the silver medal in the UEFA European Women's U-17 Championship in 2012-13 and was named to the Team of the Tournament for her successes during the tournament. Gibson and the Swedish squad also captured the silver while competing at the Nordic Games in 2011 at the U-15 level.
In her spare time, Gibson enjoys hanging out with her friends and playing soccer.
"To study in the US and combine this with soccer at a high level has been a dream," said Gibson. "I hope to develop both as a person and as a soccer player at Santa Clara. I'm impressed with what I've seen and I think head coach Jerry Smith and the team are doing a really good job. Santa Clara is playing the soccer I like and I'm really looking forward to becoming a Bronco, arriving in Santa Clara and starting training for next season."
