Pac Ten Soccer - 2008 Mens Recruiting

Here is a team by team look at the 2008 Pac Ten mens soccer recruiting classes that will be arriving in the fall:

California
The California men's soccer program signed a strong group of four recruits, Golden Bears head coach Kevin Grimes announced today. Midfielder Ted Jones, goalkeeper David Bingham, forward Michael Munoz and defender Kyle Lunt will make their debut next fall. Grimes' signees all hail from the state of California.

Jones currently plays club soccer for Marin FC and has captained his side for the past three years. Jones has started every varsity game at Redwood High School since his freshman year. He has been named to the all-league team all four years and was a captain for his final three seasons. Jones has played for both the Cal North State ODP team and the Region IV ODP squad for the past several years.

Bingham currently plays for the Mustang United. In 2007, his club made it to the Super Y-League Under-17 national championships. In 2006 and 2007, Bingham was a USL Super Y-League national team member. Bingham, from Pleasanton, is a two-year varsity starter at California High School. In his senior season, he collected 13 shutouts. He was a member of the Bay Area's All-Area team, a first-team selection to the All-Tri Valley Times team.

Munoz was the captain of his Pateadores club team. He led the team in goals for a third-place finish in the CSL Premier League. His team at Santa Margarita High School won the CIF championship in 2006 and 2007. He earned first-team all-league honors as a sophomore and a junior, and received first-team All-CIF recognition while scoring 20 goals. He broke the school record for most goals in a game with four during his junior campaign.

Lunt currently plays for Mustang United along with Bingham. In 2007, his club made it to the Super Y-League Under-17 national championships. Lunt, who has the ability to play multiple positions, was also a member of the Modesto High School varsity soccer team as a freshman. He has been a member of the Cal North State ODP team for the past four years. In addition, he was a member of the Region IV ODP team in 2006 and 2007

Oregon State
 Oregon State men’s soccer head coach Dana Taylor announced the 2008 recruiting class on Friday. The group includes six high school student-athletes as well as a pair of transfers.

“We pride our program on working hard to recruit the best players in Oregon, in addition to attracting top players from throughout the United States” said Taylor. “This year’s group will continue our run of recruiting classes that rank among the best in the country.”

 Josh Belfrage transfer from Marquette University
 Matt Drake from Happy Valley, Ore. and Eastside United FC
 Chris Harms from Portland, Ore. and Eastside United FC
 Aaron Holtz from Portland, Ore. and FC Portland
 Danny Mwanga from Portland, Ore. and Westside Metros Intl
 Eugene Ogbeide transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) CC)
 John Swenson from Langlois, Ore and Westside Metro Gunners

San Diego State
The Aztecs are coming off an 8-7-4 year with a 2nd place Pac Ten finish  Unfortunately they finished with a thud (winless in their last 5) or they would have earned an NCAA berth.  Look for this year's team to have learned from the experience.   Last year's team was very young and loses only 4 seniors to graduation.  They will have to replace Kraig Chiles who was drafted by Chivas USA of the MLS.  "This will be the first year where we will have a four-year cycle of giving out 9.9 scholarships," Kirshner said. "The addition of these monies has allowed us to bring in three nationally ranked recruiting classes, crack into the NCAA tournament two of the last three years and finish as Pac-10 runner-ups in consecutive seasons.  Although we have 10 starters and 23 of our 27 players returning, we knew it was important to bring in guys who could impact our lineup right away. In my opinion, the Pac-10 will be as good as ever; thus we could not solely rest our hopes of a championship on last year's squad members. Three or four of these players will compete for starting positions and they all increase our team's quality, depth and athleticism."

 Joe Corona from San Diego, CA and Nomads
 Justin Davies form San Diego, CA
 RJ Smith from transfer from UC Davis
 Daniel Steres from Calabasas, CA
 Danny Stott from Bolton, England

Stanford
Bret Simon's group did not have the year they had hoped for last year and definitely not a typical Stanford soccer season.  The schedule was challenging as usual, but more was hoped for than a 7-6-5 record.  The squad recently travelled to Spain for 10 days this spring and look for the trip to benefit the team greatly in the fall.

Stanford will have to replace 1st Team All Pac Ten selection Scott Bolkan, but will return three very talented underclassmen in John Moore, Michael Strickland and Bobby Warshaw.  All three were chosen All Pac Ten 2nd team.   

Stanford men's soccer will welcome six newcomers for the 2008 season, as head coach Bret Simon announced the team's Class of 2012. The incoming class is composed of three Californians and three Texans who will descend on The Farm for preseason training beginning in August.

UCLA
Another Pac Ten power that did not have the year they had hoped for.  Coming off a Final Four appearance the year before, expectations were high as usual for the Bruins.  A brutal early season schedule that had 6 nationally ranked opponents set the stage for a tough year.  The Bruins went 2-3-1 in those 6 games and never got on good footing the rest of the year it seems.  Look for the incoming class to have a big impact.

"We are very excited to have this incoming class starting in the 2008 season," Salcedo said. "It's a well-rounded class of players that fill some of the needs from the previous team. These players represent some of the most talented players in Southern California and throughout the country. Andrew Rose, who is from England, becomes one of our first foreign players in recent years. His experience as the captain of the Bristol City youth team will be an invaluable asset to our group. This 2008 class is one that we're very excited about, and we look forward to having them on campus in August."

 Eder Arreola from Chino Hills, CA and US Under 18s
 Chris Cummings from Chatsworth, CA and Real SoCal
 Daren Flitcroft from Great Falls, VA and Reston FC
 Prince Lapnet from DC United Youth Academy
 Oscar Reyes from Santa Ana, CA and Irvine Strikers
 Andrew Rose from Tetbury, England and Wycliffe College
 Joseph Scachetti fromTorrance, CA and Irvine Strikers
 Christian Vazquez from Santa Barbara, CA and Real SoCal
 Victor Yanez from Riverside, CA and Manchester United FC
 Zach Zerrenner from Santa Barbara, CA and Real SoCal
 Fernando Monge from Bellevue, WA and Crossfire Premier

Washington
Washington men's soccer coach Dean Wurzberger announced his 2008 National Letter of Intent signing class, Thursday, a group that features nine highly touted prep student-athletes including seven local products from the state of Washington.

"We are excited to add these nine talented prospects to our team next fall," Wurzberger said. "This recruiting class reflects our commitment to secure as many of the top in-state players as possible while also seeking key impact players from beyond our borders. While our 2008 recruiting class features quality players in goal, in the defense and in midfield, the three attacking players Casey McCool, Brent Richards and Dylan Tucker-Gangnes are especially important additions given our need to replace key players in those positions. With many starters returning from last year's team, we know these recruits will make us an even stronger team for 2008."

2008 UW Men's Soccer National Letter Of Intent Signees
Matthew Berry, D, 6-0, Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish HS)
Niki Chow, D, 6-0, Los Gatos, Calif. (Los Gatos HS)
Kevin Day, F/MF, 5-10, Edgewood, Wash. (Decatur HS)
Brooks Hopp, GK, 5-10, Seattle, Wash. (Seattle Academy)
Ty Klein, D, 6-1, Seattle, Wash. (Eastlake HS)
Casey McCool, 6-2, MF, Bend, Ore. (Mountain View HS)
Brent Richards, F/MF, 5-10, Camas, Wash. (Camas HS)
Kohl Schoening, D, 5-11, Woodinville, Wash. (Woodinville HS)
Dylan Tucker-Gangnes, MF, 6-3, Bainbridge Island, Wash. (Bainbridge HS)