SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara Women's Soccer has announced four more signees for the 2024 season. Lauren Hunter, Kaylee Smith and Stella Villalta will join as freshmen with Tori Powell transferring as a graduate student from Virginia Tech. Powell is enrolled for the winter quarter at Santa Clara.
 
Tori Powell | F | 5-9 | Haymarket, Va. | Battlefield HS | Virginia Tech
 
Powell missed last season due to injury, last seeing the field during the 2022 season. That year she started all 19 matches with six goals and four assists. She was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on October 4.
 
In 2021, Powell was named All-Atlantic Region Second Team and to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Postseason top 100 Freshman. She appeared in all 20 of her team's matches with eight goals and six assists.
 
Powell played club soccer for TSJ FC Virginia Girls Academy.
 
At Battlefield HS, Powell played just her freshman year and scored nine goals with nine assists en route to being named First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Northern Region, and a TeamSnap Spring State Star.
 
Her brother Ryan plays soccer at William & Mary.
 
Lauren Hunter | D | 5-4 | Rocklin, Calif. | Whitney HS | San Juan Soccer Club ECNL
 
Hunter played club soccer for San Juan Soccer Club ECNL.
 
Her club team were Sweden Gothia Cup finalists in 2023 and champions in 2022. Hunter was named ECNL Second Team for the 2022-23 season. She was called to the National Team Training Center in 2020.
 
Hunter is a three-time SFL First Team selection (2020-23) for Whitney High School where her team were 2021-22 San Joaquin Section Champions. During her first three years she scored 31 goals. She is also a two-time Scholar Athlete (2021-22 and 2022-23).
 
She was part of ASB in high school and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Club as well as the CJSF Club.
 
Her sister Ashley played soccer at Green Bay, Wisconsin and her father played college baseball.
 
Kaylee Smith | D | 5-6 | San Diego, Calif. | Francis HS | Sharks ECNL
 
Smith has been an ECNL player since 2018 and played for the Sharks ECNL 05-06. She twice participated in the ODP camp.
Smith led the Coast League in assists in 2023 and finished second in goals while her team was a CIF finalist. The team also were Coast League champions in 2022 and 2023.
 
Off the field she was editor-in-chief of the year book and a member of the National Honors Society from 2021-24.
 
In the classroom, Smith was on the Honor Roll all four years for having a GPA over 4.0.
 
Her father Kyle played soccer at Santa Clara and played for the Seattle Sounders from 2001-04.
 
Stella Villalta | D | 5-6 | London, England | The American International School in England | Tottenham Hotspur Women FC WSL Academy
 
Villalta played for the Tottenham Hotspur Women FC WSL Academy and was called up the first team for a match against Leicester City. She has also played with Arsenal FC U16 Academy from 2021-22 and Ascot United FC from 2020-21. With Ascot, she was named the Manager's and Players' Player of the Year.
 
In the US, she played for the Peninsula Soccer Club from 2016-19.
 
During her one year playing high school soccer, Villalta was the team MVP as a freshman.

Villalta also played for the U20 Nicaraguan National Team in 2023 and the U17's in 2022. She was called up to the first team this year. Her grandmother is from Nicaragua.

She previously played for the U17s  (2022) and U20s (2023), and was called up to the first team this year.
 
In the classroom she received High Honors all four years and finished with a 4.2 GPA.
 
Off the field, she was the founder of Kicks for Kindness where she coordinated charitable donations of soccer gear for Nicaragua. She also worked as the treasurer of Aiding Refugees and the secretary of People of Color Association.
 
Villalta's sister Sophia played soccer at UC Santa Barbara from 2016-20.