St. John’s -  (Three Star Class Ranking) - Dave Masur has added a seven member recruiting class that should strengthen an already solid St. John’s squad on both sides of the ball.  The class features goalkeeper Rafael Diaz who is a two-time NSCAA High School All-American and member of the U-18 U.S. National Team.  Forward Marc Godelman is among the newcomers with the potential to add depth to the Red Storm attack.  Masur will enter the 2009 season with a team that will be talented, experienced, and battle tested.  Goalkeeper Neal Kitson and midfielder Rory Quinn must be replaced but with so many players slated to return from the 2008 squad that advanced to the Final Four and recorded a 19-3-3 overall record there are plenty of reasons to be upbeat about the Red Storm heading into the 2009 campaign.   St. John’s looks to be the class of the Big East Conference and a solid contender for the National Championship as Masur enters his nineteenth season at the helm of the program.   Defensive tenacity is St. John’s trademark and the Red Storm will arguably be among the best teams in the country in that category again in 2009.  Last year St. John’s held opponents to a total of only thirteen goals while posting a school record sixteen shutouts.  No reason to expect anything different in 2009.  Senior Joel Gustafsson (3g, 1a) who was on everybody’s All-America team and was named the Big East Defender of the Year returns to anchor the Red Storm backline.  He will be joined by seniors Ben Clack (1g, 0a) and David Reed and sophomore Connor Lade (0g, 3a).  Senior Nelson Becerra (8g, 7a) who was a College Soccer News All-America selection and the Big East Conference Midfielder of the Year returns to lead what looks to be a very quick, feisty, and skilled group of Red Storm linkmen.   Other returning midfielders include juniors Sverre Wegge Gundus (4g, 5a), Tadeu Terra (3g, 3a),  Tafadzwa Chiduku (7g, 1a) and Ale Ivo (2g, 2a).  Chiduku was an All-Big East Third Team selection last year.  Last year the Red Storm offense netted a total of thirty-nine goals.  Senior Ryan Soroka (2g, 2a) returns to give the Red Strom a very talented and quick finisher up-top.  Soroka was a 2008 Third Team All-Big East selection.  Sophomores Walter Hines (1g, 5a), Pablo Punyed (0g, 1a) and Christian Gonzalez also return up-top to give Masur a lot of offensive options.  Masur will likely have a tough time replacing Kitson in goal but then again one might have said the same thing this time last year due to the graduation of Jason Landers.  St. John’s has a long history of effective play between the pipes.  Redshirt senior Derby Carrillo was the only player other than Kitson to see time in goal last year.   As a result the play between the pipes looms as one of the key unanswered questions facing the Red Storm.  If that question is successfully resolved,  St. John’s looks to have all the pieces in place to again be among the top teams in the country in 2009.   

 

Rafel Diaz - Rockaway, New Jersey - Goalkeeper - Morris Hiss High School - Two-time NSCAA High School All-American -  New Jersey Gatorade and NSCAA Player of the Year.

 

Omar Edwards - Forward - Hillcrest High School - Member New York State ODP team.  Member of the MetOval Academy squad.  A very effective goal scorer.  

 

Marc Godelman - Paramus, New Jersey - Forward - Paramus High School - Played club for Parsippany Soccer Club - Member ODP team - Two year of Super-Y National select experience.

 

Adrian L’ Esperance - Fort Wayne, Indiana - Midfielder - Canterbury High School - Played club for Fort Wayne Fever - Named to the Super Y League All-Tournament Team .

 

Nick Matthews - Midfielder - Wissahickon High School -  Played with the U-18 FC Delco Academy Team - Participated in two-Super-Y League National ODP camp programs.

 

Jimmy Mulligan - Midfielder - Patchogue Medford High School - All-State, All-County, and All-Region selection - New York State All-Star selection.  

 

Alex Naples - Goalkeeper - St. Anthony’s - All-State selection - Recorded twelve shutouts with a 0.33 goals against average his senior season - Played for the MetOval Academy team.