BIRMINGHAM – UAB women’s soccer head coach Erica Demers has announced the addition of Laura Zemberyova to the 2021 on Friday. “Laura is a player we are delighted to be bringing into our program this spring,” said Demers. “She has tremendous experience with the Slovakian Women’s National Team and knows how to bring an elite mentality to training every day.” The 5-7 forward arrives in Birmingham from Prešov, Slovakia and boasts an impressive soccer resume, having been a member of the Slovakian youth national team set-up for the past six years. Žemberyová has played over 50 international matches, scoring 12 goals. She was selected for the Slovak Under 15 National Team at age 13 while playing for her local side, 1. FC Tatran Presov. A year later she was called up to the U17 side and started featuring for the U19s by the time she was 15 years old in 2016. At club level, she left her hometown team to go to Brno in the Czech Republic in 2017. The next season, she joined eventual Czech league champions, Slavia Prague, where she has found success at the top level, leading the squad to a first place finish and the 2019-20 Czech League title. Following that achievement, Slavia Prague qualified for the 2020 Union of European Football Associations Champions League, falling to Italian side, Fiorentina, in the Round of 32 on Dec. 16. Her efforts were rewarded with the highest possible honor in 2019, as she made her full international debut. Since then, she has become a consistent member of the squad, coming to UAB with six caps under her belt – most recently having started against Sweden in December’s European Qualifier. “Laura will immediately raise the bar and level of expectation from day one. We cannot wait to see what she will bring to our program this year,” added Demers. A graduate from the United Grammar School, SOUE (Spojená škola), Laura plans to major in kinesiology.
