NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State soccer team added a nationally prominent goalkeeper in Canadian Kayla Bomben.
 
Bomben led the her club team Bradford Eagles 98 to the Canadian national championship in their respective age group this past season.
 
The Mississauga, Ontario, native will graduate from St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School and will join NSU's team this coming season.
 
NSU soccer coach George Van Linder said Bomben will be a terrific addition to rising junior Alex Latham and sophomore Cadence Starr.
 
"We have always taken great pride in having a great group of goalkeepers," said Van Linder, who graduated senior Brooke Bourbonais this past season. "We continually say that we may not have the best goalkeeper in the conference, but no one will ever have a better trio of goalkeepers than NSU in our conference. 
 
"By having Kayla join us we certainly continue to maintain that tradition."
 
Bomben recorded 10 shutouts in 16 matches this past season and allowed a total of seven goals – less than .50 goals per match.
 
She is one of 14 players from her club team to sign college scholarships, and Van Linder said the experience of playing with and against college-level teammates and opponents should prepare Bomben well for soccer in the Southland Conference.
 
"Playing with players of that caliber and having the success that they had as a team will make her transition into college a much easier one," Van Linder said. "We expect that she will battle and compete for playing time with our other two goalkeepers."
 
Bomben is the second Canadian and sixth overall signee in NSU's incoming class. Bomben joins transfer forward/midfielder April Trowbridge (Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia) as well as fellow freshmen Andrea Rodriguez Flores (Montverde Academy, Fla.) forward/defender Gabrielle Veneziale (Red Oak, Texas), defender/midfielder Jordy Warren (Allen, Texas) and defender Jayden Wheeler (Heath, Texas).