Northern Illinois University - Two And A Half Star Class Ranking -  The seven members of NIU’s recruiting class all come from winning programs and all have a good background of competitive play that should help prepare them for the collegiate game.  Steve Simmons will enter his seventh season as the head coach at NIU in 2009 with eight starters back from the 2008 team that was 11-6-4 overall with a 4-1-1 mark in MAC play that was good for a second place finish behind Akron.  Simmons stresses the team concept at NIU and rightly so as that is the X-Factor that has a huge impact on  whether the Huskies can compete at the highest level as they did back in 2006 when they were 15-6-1 overall, won the MAC Championship, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tourney.   NIU losses goalkeeper Joe Zimka, midfielder Steve Kolzow, and defender Drew Joskey to graduation but a solid core returns including midfielders Brad Horton (6g, 3a) and Kyle Knotek and senior defenders Josh Karsten and Danny Lopez.  The Huskies are always a difficult opponent to face as San Francisco and SMU discovered last year but the unanswered question heading into the 2009 campaign is whether or not they have the talent from top to bottom to win on a consistent basis. 

 

Andrew Van Woesik - Plano, Texas - Midfielder - Plano Senior High School - Played club with AYSES.

 

Jordan Godsey - Ocean Springs, Mississippi - Goalkeeper - Ocean Springs High School - Played club for the Mississippi Fire Juniors - Four year member of the Mississippi ODP team.  Great potential.

 

Mike Mascitti - Downers Grove, Illinois - Midfielder - Grove South High School - Honorable mention All-State selection -  Named Great Midwest Classic Most Valuable Player - Illinois ODP team.

 

Stefan Vaziri - Birmingham, Alabama - Midfielder - Oak Mountain High School - First Team All-State selection - NSCAA All-South Region selection - Played for Birmingham United - Alabama ODP team.

 

Nate DuBois - Lemont, Illinois - Goalkeeper - Lemont High School - Loras College - Helped Loras College secure consecutive NCAA Division III Final Four appearances and a 45-5-3 two-year record.

 

Hooman Shams - Deerfield, Illinois - Midfielder - Deerfield High School - First-Team All-Conference - Played for F.C. Chicago - Netted fourteen goals and sixteen assists his senior season at Deerfield.

 

Rocco Tagilia - Caledonia, Illinois - Midfielder - Boylan High School - Two-time First Team All-State selection - Netted twelve goals and contributed seventeen assists his senior season.

Vermont - Two Star Class Ranking - The Catamounts add a very athletic six member recruiting class that head coach Jesse Cormier aptly described as talented and raw.  Forward D.J. Elder out of Pace Academy in Atlanta and midfielder Jordan Smith out of the Walker School in Marietta, Georgia are among the sleepers in this class with the potential to make an impact.  This class is noteworthy and interesting because it truly does have the potential to be very productive. Time will tell.  Rebuilding is the one word that best describes Vermont heading into the 2009 season.  The Catamounts lose six very experienced senior starters from the 2008 squad that was 9-4-7 overall with a respectable 4-1-3 mark in America East play. Vermont will be without the services of forward Jordan Crasilneck (4g, 10a) who was a four year starter, forward Lee Stephane Kouadio (3g, 3a) who was a four year starter, defender Connor Tobin who was the 2008 America East Defender of the Year and a four year starter, defender Jake McFadden who was a four year starter, defender Will Haywood who was a three year starter, and goalkeeper Roger Scully who had twenty-six career shutouts and was a three year starter.  The bottom line is that Cormier has significantly more than the average number of gaps to fill talent and experience wise on both sides of the ball. The flip side of the situation is that the opportunity exists for some new faces to step up to the plate at Vermont in 2009.  The big unanswered question is just who is going to do that and how long will it take for some of the younger players to gain the experience needed for the Catamounts to be a factor in the America East race. All things considered, the 2009 campaign should be a very interesting one for a Vermont side that will be in a state of transition early on.  Look for the Cats to improve as the season progresses as they gain experience and gel as a team. 

 

Tim Berggren - Salt Lake City - Midfielder - East High School - League Offensive Player of the Year - An All-State selection – Played with Real Salt Lake Academy team - Member Utah ODP team. 

 

D.J. Edler - Atlanta, Georgia - Forward - Pace Academy - Plays club for GSA Phoenix - Member Georgia ODP team - A well rounded athlete who is just beginning to concentrate on soccer.

 

Alassane Kane - Macon, Georgina - Forward - Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts - Stratford Academy - Macon Telegraph Player of the Year - Western New England Prep All-Star selection.

 

Seth Rebeor - Fairfax, Vermont - Midfielder - Bellows Free Academy - Lake Division Co-Player of the Year - USCA Division III All-State selection - Played for Nordic Soccer Club.

 

Jordan Smith - Marietta, Georgia - Midfielder - Walker School - The 2008 Georgia High School Player of the Year - NSCAA All-Region III selection - Played club with Concorde Fire - Georgia ODP team.

 

Teddy Vallee - South Burlington , Vermont - Midfielder - Shattuck-St. Mary’s School - Member of the Vermont and Region I ODP team.