Nevada women’s soccer head coach Erin Otagaki added three new players to next season’s roster on Thursday, Apr. 16. The signees consist of two transfers and one freshman.

Kyla Sullivan – Defender 

Kyla Sullivan is the freshman addition to the squad. She attended Clackamas High School in Happy Valley, Ore. where she lettered in soccer all four years. 

Sullivan was named first-team All-Conference from 2016-18, All-State second team in 2018, Co-MVP in the state championship in 2018 and her team’s MVP from 2018-19.

“Kyla is a fantastic number nine,” Head coach Otagaki said. “She is a great back to pressure and has an explosiveness about her game that makes her hard to mark. She is a fun player to watch and will strengthen our attacking efforts.”

Sullivan is planning to major in political science with a minor in communication.

Ilihia Keawekane – Defender

Transfer Ilihia Keawekane is coming to the Pack after spending one year at Oregon State where she played in 13 games as a freshman—starting in four.

She attended Kamehameha Schools Maui in Pukalani, Hawaii, where she was selected as her team’s captain as a junior and senior. She was also named first-team All-League during those same years.

Otagaki praised Keawekane via an email announcing the signings. 

“Ilihia [Keawekane] is a fantastic center back who will provide great presence on the field,” Otagaki said. “She is tenacious in her defending and is not afraid to get stuck in on a tackle. We are excited for her to come in and bring her experience and talent to the back line.”

Keawekane is majoring in human development, family studies and speech pathology.

Taylor O’Neill – Forward/Defender

Taylor O’Neill played two seasons at Xavier University, where she won the Big East Conference with the team in 2019. 

She attended Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev. where she lettered in soccer from 2017-19. O’Neill played for the Heat FC ECNL club team from 2016-18 and won the 2016 & 2018 Vegas Cup and the 2018 PDT Championship.

The Las Vegas native decided to join the Wolf Pack to be closer to home. 

“Taylor is a very speedy and athletic outside back that we are looking forward to adding to our team,” Otagaki said. “We believe Taylor will fit in perfectly to our outside back group who we want to get up and down the flanks.”

O’Neill is majoring in business management.

Madeleine Chinery can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @SagebrushSports.