SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis senior Ashley Newland will sign with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on Wednesday on the National Signing Day for college soccer.

“I am extremely excited to sign and I will probably have the same feeling as committing,” said Newland. “It is official once I sign so I am excited for it.”

Newland picked Louisiana, located in Lafayette, La., for a variety of reasons.

“I really enjoyed the school and the facilities,” said Newland, who will play her fourth season on the St. Francis varsity team this spring. “I liked everything about it: the coach, the players and the team. I feel like I would fit in really well at the school.”

Newland will play for Louisiana Head Coach Scott Wieland, who completed his 11th season leading the program last fall. Wieland has led the Cajuns to their first double-digit winning season in school history, and helped 66 student-athletes receive degrees from the University of Louisiana. His teams have posted a cumulative GPA of over 3.0 in 19-of-20 semesters since Wieland came to Louisiana, and 12 semesters with a team GPA higher than 3.25.

“They saw me play at Surf Cup in San Diego and emailed me about coming to visit,” said Newland. “After I visited, I committed there one month later. It was a really fast process.”

She is excited about playing collegiate soccer in the Sun Belt Conference.

“It is a new level so it is a little intimidating,” said Newland. “Once I start playing it will be really challenging but a fun experience.”

With her college choice behind her, Newland, who plays for the San Juan Soccer Club, is ready for her senior year as a Troubadour.

“I remember freshmen year and thinking about me being on the field as a senior,” said Newland, who has scored three goals and three assists from her midfield position. “Now it is me and it is really weird because it was just yesterday (I was a freshman).”

Newland has been part of a successful three years for the program that included a section title in 2014 and runner-up finish last season. She is ready for the final chapter to begin later this month.

“We are creating our last memories together,” said Newland, who lists playing varsity as a freshman as one of her career highlights.

St. Francis welcomes back a roster that will include two of the top four scorers from 2015 and 13 letter winners overall.

“It is going to be difficult without Anna so we all need to step our game up a little bit to fill that gap,” said Newland. “If we play hard and as a team, we will get there again.”

Newland will participate in the St. Francis Signing Day Celebration on campus on Wednesday. The event will be broadcast online live on TroubieTV.