Michigan -  Four Star Class Ranking - The Maize and Blue has added a nine member 2009 recruiting class that looks to be the strongest group of newcomers from top to bottom that Michigan has signed in the nine years that the program has been fielding a team at the Division I level.  Four of the players in the class have United States Youth National Team experience.  Forward Justin Meran who was the 2008 National Junior College Player of the Year at Yavapai College and defender Kofi Opare out of St. Paul High School in Naagara Fall, Ontario, Canada are among the members of the class who should make an immediate impact.  Due to the loss of seven starters, the team that Michigan will put on the pitch in 2009 will be significantly different from the 2008 team that was 13-6-3 overall with a 4-1-1 mark in Big Ten play and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tourney that enabled the Wolverines to go to the big dance after a three year absence.  The decision of forward Peri Marosevic to forgo his senior year of eligibility to enter the professional ranks took a large bite out of the Michigan attack.  Marosevic was a three-time All-Big Ten selection who had a total of twenty-four career goals during his three year stay in Ann Arbor.  The Wolverines also will be without forward Steve Bonnell (3g, 1a), midfielders Jake Stacy (8g, 5a) and Alex Morisset (0g, 4a), defender Michael Holody (2g, 1a) and goalkeeper Patrick Sperry, a three year starter, due to graduation.  Stacy was a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection who had twenty-one career assists as a four year starter.  He added an additional dimension to the attack.  Holody was also a First Team All-Big Ten selection and a College Soccer News and NSCAA All-American honoree who was a four-year starter for the Maize and Blue.  Holody is the type of player and team leader whose presence on the field and skill level is not easily replaced.  Senior forward Mauro Fuzetti (9g, 6a) will return in 2009  to lead the Michigan attack.  Fuzetti is a playmaker who was named to the 2008 All-Big Ten First Team.  Senior Daniel Gray and junior Adam Shaw are among returning midfielders.  Seniors Julian Robles, Matt Schmitt and Cam Cameron return in the back.  Junior Chris Blais is among the returning players who looks to be in the hunt to fill the now vacant goalkeeper position that was occupied for the past three years by Sperry.  Michigan looks to be a team in transition in 2009.  Players who were responsible for twenty-seven of the Wolverines forty goals in 2008 have now departed the building.  Fuzetti is a very capable goal scorer and will be the key to Michigan’s attack in 2009 but the bottom line is that others will have to emerge to add firepower on the offensive side of the ball in order for Michigan to have any chance of repeating the level of success that they enjoyed last year.  The likely candidate to help fill the offensive void is Meram but whether or not he will be able to generate the level of offensive productivity at Michigan that he did at Yavapai College remains to be seen.  Michigan will enter the 2009 season with a lot of unanswered questions due to turnover hence the emphasis on the newcomers being ready to contribute immediately. 

 

Brian Klemczak - Livonia, Michigan - Defender - Livonia Stevenson High School - NSCAA High School All-Region selection - Member Region II ODP team - Michigan Dream Team selection.   

 

Justin Meram - Shelby Township, Michigan - Forward - Yavapai College - Had 132 points and 51 goals at Yavapai College - Named 2008 National Junior College Player of the Year. 

 

Kofi Opare - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada - Defender - St. Paul High School - Participated in U.S. U-20 National Team Camp - Played club soccer for the St. Catherine’s Concord Gunners.

 

Hamoody Saad - Dearborn, Michigan - Midfielder - Dearborn High School - All-State selection - Played for Vardar Academy - Region II ODP Team Pool - Michigan Dream Team selection.

 

Noble Sullivan -  Grand Rapids, Michigan - Midfielder - Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School - 2008 First Team All-State - Michigan ODP team and Region II Player Pool member.

 

David Yang - Ann Arbor, Michigan - Midfielder - Ann Arbor Pioneer High School - Played club for the Michigan Wolves - Four-year member of Regional ODP team.  First Team All-State selection.

 

Alex Martinez - Vancover, B.C., Canada - Forward - Vancouver Distance Education - In IMG Academy at Bradenton last year.  Played with FC Atlas of the Mexican Second Division.

 

Seung Tak Nam - Seoul, South Korea - Midfielder - The Pendleton School - A transfer from the University of Central Florida where he played in twenty-seven contests making fifteen starts.

 

Latif Alashe - Northville, Michigan - Midfielder - Northville High School - Played with U.S. U-18 National Team - Michigan Dream Team member - Played with Vardar. Solid defender.