Arizona soccer will welcome two transfers for the 2022 season. One, former UCLA goalkeeper Hannah Mitchell, was previously known to be on her way to Tucson. Midfielder Nyota Katembo, who will join Arizona after one year at Portland, was just announced on Monday.
Mitchell spent three years at UCLA and has experience with the Scottish U19 national team, but she has not played much at the collegiate level. She made her collegiate debut against UC Irvine during the 2021 fall season.
“She’s got a big personality and good leadership qualities, and the UCLA coaches speak extremely highly of her as a person and a leader,” Arizona head coach Becca Moros said. “So we’re looking for her to sort of fit right into that group of upperclassmen and have an impact in terms of how she mentors the younger players, how she sets the standard and training. And then obviously, her approach to game day and taking care of her body and all those professional things that are really critical to success on the field.”
With the extra year granted by the NCAA, Mitchell could have three years left to play. She redshirted her true freshman season in 2019 and did not appear during the 2020-21 season that was moved to spring.
Arizona has senior Hope Hisey at goalkeeper, but the addition of Mitchell and freshman Logan McGruder gives the team a strong group that can set the team up for the future. Hisey could potentially play two more years if she chooses to take advantage of the extra year granted by the NCAA.
Katembo played in 16 games for Portland last year. Nine of those appearances were starts, primarily at the start of the season. She had two assists and took 10 shots. Three of her shots were on goal.
The midfielder was born in Nyarugusu, Tanzania but attended school in Canada. She comes to Arizona from Ahuntsic College in Montreal, Quebec.
Katembo played for Team Quebec from 2015 to 2018. More recently, she played for club teams FC Laval (2020) and AS Blainville (2021), both of which were formerly part of Première ligue de soccer du Québec. They are now part of League 1 Canada, a new Pro-Am developmental league that started play in 2022.
[Top buts – PLSQ-F]
Voici une sélection de buts marqués lors de récents matchs de la #PLSQF!
Épisode 2 :
1- Nyota Katembo, @ASBlainville
2- Fatou Ndiaye, @SoccerPfds
3- Émilie Grondines, CS St-Hubert@League1CanadaLequel est votre préféré? pic.twitter.com/Ia26DYfUiB
— PLSQ (@PLSQ1) June 3, 2022
Both Mitchell and Katembo are immediately eligible.