Friday, August 12, 2011

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 12, 2011) – On Thursday, just one week after reporting to her first training session as a member of the ETSU women’s soccer team, freshman Ellis Parsons (Cardiff, Wales) answered a request to fly back to Wales to compete in a pair of matches next week for the Welsh U19 national squad.

“I got an email yesterday saying that I’ve been selected to play for my country against Belgium in two friendlies,” said Parsons. “It’s a privilege and an honor to go back and play for your country so I’m very excited about that.”

Parsons will first play with her Welsh teammates Tuesday against Belgium, before taking on the Belgians again on Thursday.

A member of the Welsh national team since 2007, Parsons has recorded seven caps in her career with the squad. Through five caps and 442 minutes of play in Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) competition, Parsons has aided the Welsh nationals to a 2-2-1 record in those games while registering three tackles. In her latest appearance with the team, Wales defeated Georgia, 21-0.

“We’re obviously very proud that Ellis has been selected to go play for her country,” said head coach Adam Sayers. “Ellis has been involved with the national team for several years now and we fully expected her to continue her involvement. We fully support her and we’re very proud of the fact that she’ll be representing her country as well as (ETSU) and we wish her all the best.”

The Welsh national team is no stranger to members of the ETSU women’s soccer team, as Parsons’ current ETSU teammate Jasmin Dutton (Kimmel Bay, North Wales) has quite an illustrious reputation playing in Wales. Dutton, who first started playing for the U16 Welsh national team in 2003 before joining the U19 team in 2007, scored six goals in her time with the U19 squad and was also voted team captain while earning Welsh Girl Player of the Year honors.

Being in Wales all of next week, Parsons will miss both the final exhibition game of the season, Tuesday against Presbyterian, and the season opener on the road against Wofford on Friday. Fortunately, Parsons will be available come Aug. 26 when ETSU opens the home portion of the season, taking on Tennessee Tech. 

Parsons will fly out Saturday to meet with her Welsh teammates and coaches for practice Sunday afternoon. The following Friday, Parsons will fly back across the pond to reunite with her ETSU squad for Saturday workouts.   

For more information on ETSU women’s soccer visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer links.