Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Signs Czech Republic National Team Member
May 31, 2011 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. - Second-year Ball State soccer head coach Craig Roberts announced the signing of Pavla Benýrová (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnasium Prague 9) to a national letter of intent Tuesday. Benýrová becomes the 10th member of Roberts' first full recruiting class and will join the Cardinals in the 2011 season.
"We are delighted to add Pavla to our incoming freshmen class," Roberts said. "She is a very experienced and talented defender. She is a player that we believe will help solidify our back line for years to come."
Benýrová becomes the first ever recruit for Ball State soccer with national team experience and the first recruit from the Czech Republic. She has spent the past three seasons as part of the Czech Republic National Team (2009-11) and made seven appearances during the 2009 season in World Cup qualifying. She played 332 minutes in the qualifying round, including all 90 minutes in the Czech Republic's victories over Wales and Belgium. She helped the Czech Republic post a 4-2-1 record in World Cup qualifying before being eliminated after finishing second in Group 8.
Benýrová also played from 2005-2007 with the Czech Republic U-19 team, including making her first national team appearance in the 2006 U-19 Championship qualifying round Sept. 26, 2006 in a 6-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Benýrová has also spent the past nine years playing club soccer for SK Slavia Prague and head coach Martin Šeran. She helped SK Slavia Prague to the 2003-04 championship as well as second place finishes in 2004-05 and 2010-11. She helped her team to an appearance in the 2004 UEFA Women's Club Champions League as she made her UEFA debut July 7, 2004 in a 3-0 victory over Super Sport.
Benýrová joins the Cardinals' recruiting class that includes 2011 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year Hannah Chadick (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), Ellie Chadick (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), Brianna Schmitt (Troy, Ill./Triad), Victoria Jacobs (Oakville, Ontario/St. Ignatius of Loyola), Alexis Pearlstein (North Bend, Wash./Mouth Si), Rebecca Sutton (Channahon, Ill./Minooka Community), Cailey Starck (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro), Lindsay Kempf (Dacula, Ga./Mill Creek) and Nicole Pembleton (Mississauga, Ontario/Clarkson Secondary).
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