TheWheeling Jesuit men's soccer program announced the addition of 15 student-athletes to the 2012roster.
"After coming off a strong finish and advancing to the WVIACFinals in 2011, Our staff worked very hard to add a talented class to continue the momentum generated from the previous season," said Head Coach Jim Regan."We are excited to start with training and developing a championship-like team environment."
WJU's 2012 class opened with two quality defenders in SeanMurphy and Tom Walsh, who graduated from Jesuit soccer high schools. Murphy,originally from Dublin Ireland, graduated from BelverdeHigh School, while Walsh attended Gonzaga High School in Washington D.C.
Another defender who is expected to contribute on his freshman year is Jonathan Hawkshaw. Hawkshaw is originally from Kilmarnock, Scotland and will help replace the loss of All-Conference defender Andrew Hickey. CoachRegan is also pleased to present Mark Snyder, former captain of Mt. Pleasant HSin Western Pennsylvania, who will add depth to the Cardinal defense this year.
The Cardinals increased the depth of their attack with the addition of Jeff Merrifield. His signing continues Jesuit's success of attracting the top talent in the state to Wheeling Jesuit. Merrifield is from Fairmont, W.Va., and is an All-State player who graduated from Trinity HS in Morgantown.
Jesuit also added a pair of All-Region players in DominicPalmieri and Vincent Faraji. Palmieri is a striker from St. Augustine Prep.High School in New Jersey, and Faraji was one of the top strikers at Elyria Catholic High School,which is located just in the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio.
The Cardinals will improve their offense with the signings of three technical gifted players; Gonzalo Arroyo, Carlos Avila, and NicolayNetskar. Arroyo, originally from Bilbao, Spain, is a talented player who is coming to make an impact this season. Avila,from Zaragoza, Spain,will increase the creativity of Cardinal's attack, while Netskar, a native of Oppegaard, Norway,will be contributing with goals.
The class is completed with the additions of MohamedMohamed, a defender transfer student from Burlington,VT., Matthew Natal, a forward from Cleveland, Ohio, RyanMcCann, a midfielder from Frostburg, Md., Logan Young, a forward from St. Clairsville, Ohio, and KyleGibson, a midfielder from Wheeling, W.Va.
"We should have a highly competitive pre-season which will set the tone for a successful and rewarding year," Coach Regan remarked. "Our goal is to battle for WVIAC title and an NCAA Playoff birth."
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