Big Ten Soccer - 2008 Mens Recruiting

Ohio State burst onto the national scene last season as they advanced to the NCAA Final Four losing to Wake Forest in the national championship.  Expect traditional power Indiana and rising program Northwestern to be national players once again next year.  Here is a review of the Big Ten 2008 recruiting classes.

Indiana University
"The 2008 Indiana University's Men's Soccer recruiting class reflects all that we look for in our recruiting efforts," Freitag said. "To start, these seven young men are outstanding individuals who all are very dedicated and gifted in the classroom. They are all extremely talented and athletic soccer players. Lastly, and vitally important to our championship efforts is the fact that they all possess the `winning fiber' that has been the make up of so many quality players that have worn the IU jersey through the years."

The Hoosiers will have some big holes to fill as they lose three of their defensive studs as Greg Stevning and Charley Traylor graduated and Ofori Sarkodie joined the pro ranks.  However, All Big-Ten First Team selection senior Chay Cain returns to give the Hoosiers an extremely capable and experienced presence between the pipes.  Last year Cain had ten shutouts with a goals-against-average of 0.61. 

 Nick Blevins from Carroll, Ohio and Eagles SC
 Will Bruin from St. Louis, Mo.and Scott Gallagher
 Chris Haffner from St. Louis, Mo and Scott Gallagher
 Tommy Meyer from St. Louis, Mo. and Scott Gallagher 
  Luis Soffner from St. Louis, Mo. and Scott Gallagher 
 Joe Tolen from Evansville, Ind. 
 Tim Wylie from Fort Wayne, Ind. and Indy Burn Eagles

"This class possesses skill, size, and a competitive edge that will compliment our talented returning squad," Freitag said. "I look forward to watching them develop into champions. They will all be valuable assets to Indiana University and our soccer program."

University of Michigan
The Wolverines return pretty much every main player from last year's squad so a huge recruiting class was not needed.  Look for Michigan to have a chance to make an impact in the Big Ten next year and challenge Northwestern for the 3rd spot in the conference.  University of Michigan men's soccer coach Steve Burns announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the upcoming 2008 season:

 Tim Bergsma from Beverly Hills, Mich and Bloomfield Force
 Jarett Kerr from Northfield, Ill and Chicago Fire Youth
 Alexander Klein fromSeattle, Was and Crossfire Premier

"The players in this class all possess championship character and ability," said Burns. "While we return a strong team -- 10 of 11 starters -- I expect this class to add to our chemistry and hunger for success. They are well prepared for the high athletic and academic challenges of being student-athletes at Michigan."

Michigan State
The Spartans made the NCAA Tournament last season but finished in a swoon as they went winless over their last 6 matches and crashed out of the NCAAs to Oakland.  They lost a couple of studs to MLS as both Kevin Reiman (Real Salt Lake) and Rauwshan McKenzie (Kansas City Wizards) were both drafted.  At this time, the university has not released any information on its 2008 recruiting class.

Northwestern University
The Wildcats have become a nationally recognized program the last few years under coach Tim Lenahan.  The success of the program can be traced no further than to their ability to attract quality recruits frolm top club programs around the country.  This year Northwestern has announced the addition of five recruits:

 Jonathan Harris from Arlington Heights, Ill. and Sockers FC
 Oliver Kupe from Clarkston, Mich. and Vardar
 Christian Ludtke from Wilmington, NC and Cape Fear Breakers
 Peter O'Neill from Fairway, Kan. and Blue Valley Stars
 John Rogers from Birmingham, Mich and Vardar

"I am very excited about this year's class," Lenahan said. "Over the past few years, we have been able attract some of the nation's top high school and club players and this year is no exception. All but one of our players have played for the Regional Team or attended Adidas ESP which usually is reserved for the top 75 senior players in the country. The one exception, Oliver Kupe, is an exceptional two-sport athlete who we are excited about his making a full-time commitment to soccer.

"We continue to get players from our Northwestern College Soccer Training Center, as both Peter O'Neill and Jon Harris attended the camp last summer and we were able to get a great feel for them and their personalities. We have added both size and speed in Ludtke, Kupe and O'Neill, while getting also a natural leader and great soccer IQ in John Rogers. Jonathan Harris has great presence and should push our existing goalkeeper group. All in all, I would say this is a very talented and balanced class that can help us to achieve our continued climb into the nation's elite soccer programs."

Ohio State University
After last year's amazing run to the NCAA Championship, expectations are very high for the Buckeyes.  Unfortunately the program lost three of its very best players as All-America midfielder Xavier Balc (8g, 14a), All-America defender Eric Brunner (6g, 0a), and goalkeeper Casey Latchem all who graduated.  The team does return seven starters though and will look for new leadership to step up from within.  The Buckeyes announced an eight member recrujiting class:

Joshua Breto from Delray Beach, Fla. and Clearwater Chargers
 Ross Dickson from Buffalo Grove, Ill. and FC United
 Nathan Driggers from New Albany, Ind. and Javanon
 David Schade from Westlake, Ohio and Cleveland SA
 Michael Schmidt from Forestville, CA and Sonoma County Alliance
 Eric Shrigley from Wheaton, Ill. and Eclipse
 Dalton Summers from Noblesville, Ind.
 Dave Tiemstra from Clarendon Hills, Ill and Eclipse

“We believe we have recruited an outstanding group of student-athletes who will represent The Ohio State University in an incredible manner both on and off the playing field,” Bluem said. “They will increase the depth of our team in all positions and compete favorably for playing time against an experienced group of returnees.”

Penn State University
Penn State men's soccer head coach Barry Gorman and his staff has announced the signing of eight recruits for the 2008 season. Joining the Nittany Lions is a talented and dynamic group composed of three midfielders, two defenders, two forwards, and one forward/midfielder. The class is primarily regionally based with six of the eight players hailing from Pennsylvania, New York, or Maryland.

"As a group, this recruiting class has all the ingredients to create a healthy competitive environment for starting roles within the squad and enable the 2008 Nittany Lions to become viable contenders for major honors," said Gorman, who is entering his 21st year at the helm of the Penn State program.

 Matheus Braga from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 Justin Lee from Derwood, MD 
 Mark Fetrow of FC Delco
 MacKenzie Arment from Manheim, PA  
 John Gallagher from Pine Bush, NY
 Corey Hertzog from Reading, PA 
 Patrick Krispin from The Woodlands, TX
 Matt Smallwood from Cochranville, PA

University of Wisconsin
The Wisconsin men’s soccer team will welcome four student-athletes for the 2008 season, head coach Jeff Rohrman recently announced. The class, headed up by Minnesota’s Mr. Soccer, midfielder Colin Monasterio, also includes forward Mark Roos, midfielder David Parato and defender/midfielder Danny Ahlering.

 Danny Ahlering from Northbrook, IL and FC United Select
 David Parato from St Louis, Mo and Lou Fusz SC
 Mark Roos from Wilmette IL and Madison 56ers
 Colin Monasterio from Maple Grove, MN and Wings Nationals