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Northridge's Christner Twins Sign To Play For Maple Leafs
GOSHEN, Ind. - There is an old Chinese saying, "Good things come in pairs."
Goshen College head women's soccer coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj hopes that saying is true as he recently announced the signings of twin sisters Dana and Alisha Christner. The pair were both four-year starters at local Northridge High School where Mounsithiraj is also a guidance counselor.
"I have known both Dana and Alisha for many years and it has been exciting to observe their development not only as tremendous soccer players, but also as outstanding young people," said Mounsithiraj, who will be coaching his fourth set of twins in his nine-year tenure at Goshen.
The Christner's were integral parts of Raider teams that took a sectional championship when they were sophomores and added an undefeated Northern Lakes Conference campaign during their senior season. They also have played four years for the prestigious Northern Magic Soccer Club.
A defender, Alisha is a three-time all NLC pick. She was named Northridge's top defensive player in each of her four seasons and was selected to the All District team as a senior. "Alisha is a natural defenders who works very well with the system that we will be playing," Mounsithiraj explained. "She has a very good understanding of both individual and team defending."
Dana is an outside midfielder and was picked to the All NLC team after an outstanding senior campaign. "She makes her living on the outside of the pitch with her pace and ability to get around defenders," Mounsithiraj added. "Dana - as well as Alisha - is very coacheable and competitive."
Both Dana and Alisha have been active off the pitch as well. In addition to their standout soccer careers at Northrdige, both have put on other Raider uniforms. Alisha played basketball all four years at Northridge, while Dana was a standout member of the track and field team. With the track season still ahead, Dana was a regional qualifier as a freshman and junior and a state qualifier as a sophomore.
Beyond the athletic realm, the Christener's both also excel in the classroom. Dana and Alisha are both members of the National Honor Society, have spent four years in choir, and are active in the Siloam Mennonite Church youth group.
"Both Dana and Alisha value the rich and strong education Goshen College has to offer," Mounsithiraj said. "They have done an excellent job in balancing a very rigorous course of study and sports at Northrdige. Furthermore, they both are very well aware of the importance of giving and service to others, which also is something that I value in our recruits."
The daughters of Brian and Loralee Christner, Dana and Alisha join Bethany Christian standout Marissa Weldy as members of Mounsithiraj's 2010 recruiting class to date. Dana plans on majoring in nursing, while Alisha will enter the teacher education program upon starting at Goshen in the fall.
"Goshen has a very good nursing program that comes highly recommended," said Dana of her decision, while also citing Goshen's class size, study abroad program (SST), and soccer camps as contributing factors. "Having a chance to scrimmage with the team already, I felt welcome and felt that this was the right fit for me."
Alisha offered similar comments on her decision, "Goshen offers a joint elementary/ exceptional needs ceritificate in an undergraduate program which I am very interested in," she said before adding, "I am very excited for the opportunity to play soccer at Goshen and I can't wait to get to know my teammates and coaches."
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