GOSHEN, Ind. - With his fourth signing of the 2010 recruiting class, Goshen College women's soccer coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj has gone the family route.

The eight-year head coach of the Maple Leafs recently announced the signing of Rebekah Groff, who will become the third Groff sister to play intercollegiate athletics at Goshen College.

Sara Groff was a four-year starter on the soccer team before graduating in 2007 and spending a year on the coaching staff, while Hannah Groff graduated this spring after four years as a member of the tennis team.

The younger Rebekah was a two-sport standout at Garden Spot High School in New Holland, Pa.  A captain of the field hockey team, Groff was a four-year soccer star and was on the Section 2 Top 10 scorers list as a junior.

"Bekah is an outstanding student-athlete who accomplished so much both in school and on the pitch," Mounsithiraj explained.  "She is a student of the game and brings with her extensive playing experience and knowledge.  She is both technically and tactically sound which will allow her to immediately contribute to the team.  I am especially pleased with her speed and pace on the outside that is so important at the college level."

Off the pitch, Groff is a member of the choir and vocal ensemble.  She is the class representative for her senior class and has been on the Distinguished Honor Roll all four years of high school.  The daughter of Daryll and Audrey Groff - also both Goshen College graduates - Rebekah will major in nursing.

"I am so excited!  Goshen College offers so many things that I'm looking for in a school," Groff explained.  "The mission of this college is very much the same as my mission for life.  I look forward to meeting new people - especially my team - as well as experiencing what Goshen College has to offer."

Groff joins the 2010 Maple Leafs who lost three seniors to graduation.  She is the fourth to sign in this year's recruiting class that also includes Dana and Alisha Christner of Northridge High School and Bethany Christian's Marissa Weldy.