NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Soccer Head Coach Raleigh DeRose announced the addition of five new players for the 2024 campaign, her first at the helm of the program. Ellie Arnold (Midfielder, USC Upstate), Chloe Cline (Defender, Menomonee Falls, Wis.), Kaya Durkee (Defender, Danville, Calif.), Bella Hanisch (Defender, DePaul University), and Bekah Nielsen (Goalkeeper, Lewis University) all join the Redbirds this fall.
Arnold comes to Illinois State by way of USC Upstate, where she started 31 matches over four seasons. Arnold tallied a pair of goals and six assists over that stretch. Last season she appeared in 19 games, finishing with one assist and two goals. A native of London, England, Arnold competed at the club level for Arsenal Women FC, Millwall Lionesses, U23 Chelsea Women, and London City Lionesses.
Cline attended Hamilton High School, where she helped her team to a pair of regional championships, a Semi-Section championship and a 2024 conference title. Cline was a 2022 Regional League All Regional Player in the Heartland Conference.
Durkee helped Carondelet High School to a 38-9-5 record over her junior and senior campaigns. She was a team captain for Carondelet, where she earned EBAL All-League Team honors twice. On the club side, Durkee was a team captain for Mustang SC 06 ECNL and earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2021.
A native of Ottawa, Canada, Hanisch started 9 games in her three-year career at DePaul. Last season, she made 14 appearances with a pair of starts for the Blue Demons. She tallied a pair of assists in her career at DePaul. Hanisch was also a two-time Academic All-Big East selection at DePaul in 2021 and 2023.
Nielsen, who is a Normal native, spent two seasons at Lewis after playing nearby at Heartland Community College. She was an All-GLVC Second Team selection last season for the Flyers after starting all 19 of her appearances during the 2023 campaign. She tallied nine shutouts last year, allowing just 13 goals for a .69 goals-against average. Nielsen posted a 9-4-6 record in the net for the Flyers in her senior campaign.
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