Marquette -  Three Star Class Ranking - Louis Bennett has added an eight member recruiting class that he hopes will add a little bite to the Golden Eagle attack.  The class includes NSCAA High School All-American forwards Keith Sierra from Tampa, Florida and Andy Huftalin from Rockford, Illinois.  The new recruits have a solid history of competitive play under their belts which should position them well to challenge immediately for playing time.  The data clearly indicates that the lads from Milwaukee need to be a bit more persuasive on the offensive side of the ball.  Bennett stated, “One of the goals of this recruiting class was to address the need for some more attacking influence.”  In that regard Bennett is spot on.  Goals at Marquette over the past few years have been about as rare as UFO sightings. The Golden Eagles netted eight goals in 2006, twelve in 2007, and twelve in 2008.  Rebuilding usually begins on the defensive side of the ball and the data would indicate that the Blue and Gold have made steady improvement in that area of the game.  Marquette allowed opponents to put the ball in the back of the net thirty-seven times in 2006, twenty-eight times in 2007, and only twenty-one times in 2008.  However, the yearly win total at Marquette will likely continue to be in single digits until Bennett can break the code on what it takes to generate a potent attack at Marquette.  Traditional wisdom says it will just be a matter of time before that occurs.  Bennett and associate head coach Stan Anderson know what it takes to put together a winning program as demonstrated by the fact that they directed Wisconsin Milwaukee to five consecutive NCAA Tourney appearances before coming cross town to Marquette.  Problem is the Golden Eagles play in the highly competitive Big East Conference where the margin of error is very slight which means the learning curve can be brutal.   The good news heading into the 2009 campaign is that Marquette returns its entire starting lineup from the 2008 season.  The bad news is that the 2008 squad was 3-10-4 overall with a 1-8-2 mark in Big East play.  Midfielder Anthony Colaizzi (4g, 3a), who led the Golden Eagles in scoring last year, is among the returning players who Bennett will likely count on for offensive productivity.  The backline should be a team strength in 2009 will Billy Von Rueden, Matt Stummer, Paul Monsen, Tom Lynn, and redshirt Scott Miller among returning defenders.  Senior Matt Pyzdrowski who was the starter in goal last year and senior Kenan Flynn return to give Marquette two very capable netminders.  The bottom line is that the Golden Eagles should be a stronger side in 2009 than they have been in the past but unless the newcomers can make a significant impact chances are they will once again reside in the cellar of the Big East Conference.

 

Matt Leonard - Palatine, Illinois - Midfielder - William Ford High School - Played club for the Chicago Sockers FC - All Conference selection at William Ford High School - Solid competitor.

 

Aaron Cranfill - New Berlin, Wisconsin - Defender - New Berlin West High School - Played club for FC Milwaukee - First Team All-Conference selection - All-State selection - Great work ethic.

 

Anthony Selvaggi - Elmhurst, Illinois - Midfielder - York Community High School - Played club for Chicago Sockers FC - All-Conference and All-Sectional selection - Good speed and touch on the ball.

 

Ryan Robb - Ampthill, England - Midfielder - Redbourne Upper School - Crystal Palace Academy - Played club with Barton Rovers FC - Quick and savvy player.

 

Adam Lysak - Janesville, Wisconsin - Forward - Milton High School - Member of the Polish U-18 National Team - First Team All-State selection - Southern Lakes Conference Player of the Year.

 

Keith Sierra - Tampa, Florida - Forward/Midfielder  - Jesuit High School - Named NSCAA High School All-American - Played club for Hillsborough County United -  Solid outside midfielder.

 

Andy Huftalin - Rockford, Illinois - Forward - Winnebago High School - Named NSCAA High School All-American - All-State selection - Played for Chicago Fire Academy -  Attack oriented.  

 

Andrew Krynski  - Algonquin, Illinois - Forward - Woodstock Marian Central Catholic - Played club for Chicago Sockers FC - First Team All-Area - Good size and athletic ability - A clutch goal scorer.

Elon - Three Star Class Ranking - Darren Powell has announced the addition of four players who will compete for the Phoenix in 2009.  The new members include 2007 NSCAA Youth All-American Archie Karpeh who enrolled at Elon in the spring.  The Phoenix has hovered around the ten win mark for each of the four seasons that Powell has been the head coach at Elon.  They had nine wins in 2005, ten wins in 2006, eight wins in 2007, and ten wins in 2008 including a perfect 7-0-0 mark in Southern Conference regular season play.  With forward Justin Wyatt (13g, 7a), midfielders Erfan Imeni and Clint Collins, defender Steven Kinney and netminder Clint Irwin returning the Phoenix could eclipse the ten win mark in 2009. 

 

Chris Thomas - Snellville, Georgia - Forward - Greater Atlanta Christian School - Scored  forty-one goals in 2008 - Member of the NSCAA All-South Region squad - Played club for Norcross Fury 91.

 

Gabe Latigue - Apex, North Carolina - Midfielder - Panther Creek High School - A NSCAA All-South Region selection - Played for the Triangle Futbol Club - Named 2008 Tri-8 4A Conference Player of the Year.

 

Archie Karpeh - Circle Pines, Minnesota - Forward - St. Stephens High -  IMG Academy - Member U.S. U-17 National Team - NSCAA 2007 Youth All-American selection - Team captain at IMG.

 

Mark Berlin - Winston-Salem, North Carolina - Defender - Mt. Tabor High School - All-Conference and All-Region selection.  Played club for ‘90 Twins City Youth.