Baylor's Kelly Pannell, Paige Elliott moving on as well

Western Carolina University has confirmed the signing of Kelly Pannell to a soccer letter-of-intent last week, and Baylor teammate Paige Elliott also followed through on her commitment to Lehigh.

The two were part of the Baylor soccer juggernaut that lost only one match in 2010 and '11, with back-to-back Division II-AA state championships. The Lady Red Raiders finished third in the final 2011 Powerade Fab 50 Girls' Soccer Rankings on ESPN Rise.

Pannell finished with 12 goals and five assists from her center midfielder position.

"Kelly is a very versatile and athletic player, which will allow to compete for several spots on the field," Western Carolina coach Chad Miller said. "She has a tireless work rate and can strike a ball extremely well. Kelly has a wonderful attitude towards training and simply loves to compete. She will add to our attacking options upfront and in the attacking midfield position."

Elliott, who played left back for Baylor, was the 2010 state championship MVP for her efforts in shutting down the potent St. Agnes offense. The Lady Raiders allowed only seven goals the past two seasons and finished the 2011 campaign with 12 consecutive shutouts.

Having grown up in Massachusetts, Elliott has no fears about heading north. Lehigh is in Bethlehem, Pa.

"I wanted to go to a medium-sized school with a good engineering program," she said. "I went to a clinic up there, met the coaches and players and fell in love. It's in a good conference, and they won the Patriot League two seasons ago, so I like that we can be competitive at the top of the league."