2005 Boston University Men's Soccer Roster
BOSTON - Boston University Men's Soccer Head Coach Neil Roberts announced the 2005 roster, which includes 12 returning letter winners and a recruiting class of nine that College Soccer News rated 13th best in the nation.
Looking to continue the success that Terrier men's soccer saw in 2004, when BU clinched both the America East regular-season and tournament championships, and made it to the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, the BU coaching staff selected nine highly touted newcomers to aide the already strong roster for 2005.
The nine student-athletes that will join the Terriers this fall include Andrew Bassi (Deer Park, N.Y.), Zach Bauer (St. Louis, Mo.), Joe Cullaro (New City, N.Y.), Jaryd Goldberg (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Neil Hlavaty (Lombard, Ill.), Jin Oh (Austin, Texas), Dan Schultz (Cinncinati, Ohio), Petur Sigurdsson (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) and Felix Vincent (East Lyme, Conn.). Together they represent the class of 2009 and the America East's only recruiting class to be listed in College Soccer News' annual top-40 list.
\"I am excited about this class,\" said Roberts. \"We lost a great group of seniors and I feel that we filled some of those holes, while adding some talented individuals with winning backgrounds and high character levels.\"
A midfielder from Deer Park, N.Y., Andrew Bassi played four seasons for the BW Gotschee club in New York City. A five-year member of the Eastern New York Olympic Development Program, Bassi was named to the Super Y League Regional Team in 2005.
Zach Bauer, a 2004 National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American and Snickers ODP All-American, led Christian Brothers College High School (St. Louis, Mo.) to a state title and a 31-2 record. Named Missouri's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, Bauer led the Scott Gallagher Soccer Club to the 2004 U17 National Championship.
Joining the Terrier goalkeeper unit, Joe Cullaro earned All-Section honors as a senior at Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, N.Y. Cullaro participated in the camp for the U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team in 2002 and was a member of the Super Y League Regional Team in 2004.
Jaryd Goldberg, a junior midfielder, arrives at B.U. after two seasons at Boston College, where he started 30-of-35 games and registered three goals and four assists to lead the Eagles to an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Prior to BC, Goldberg was an All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honoree at the Ridge School in Basking Ridge, N.J.
Midfielder Neil Hlavaty led the Sockers FC Chicago to five consecutive Illinois state titles and a Midwest regional crown in 2002. A five-year member of the Illinois ODP team, Hlavaty spent the spring of 2005 playing with the FC Sparta Youth Team in Prague, Czech Republic.
Forward Jin Oh led the Austin Flyers Soccer Club to the South Texas State Championship in 2004. Originally from Guam, Oh was a member of his nation's U-17 National Team. He also played for Hawaii's Region IV ODP team and played scholastically for St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton, Fla.
Forward Dan Schultz earned NSCAA All-America and Cincinnati Player of the Year accolades following his senior season at The Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio, while also leading the Javanon Soccer Club to the Region II Championship. A four-year member of Kentucky's ODP team, Schultz is currently representing the United States at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Petur Sigurdsson, a forward from Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, is a veteran of the Icelandic National Team, earning caps at the U-17, U-19 and U-21 levels. Last summer, Sigurdsson represented Iceland in the Union of European Football Associations U-21 Championships in Malta. In 2003, he led his club team to the U-19 Icelandic Championship, tallying a team-leading 16 goals in 11 games.
A junior back/forward, Felix Vincent played the last two seasons at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Vincent appeared in 36-of-37 games in two seasons with the Wildcats, contributing three goals and four assists.
In addition to the nine newcomers, BU returns 18 players from 2004, in addition to two who were added to the roster last spring. Leading the Terriers will be three captains, including junior goalkeeper Chad Comroe, senior back Matt Cross and senior midfielder Jamie Johnson.
Along with Cross and Johnson from the senior class are midfielder Sam Piotrowski and forward Sedrick Chin. Joining Comroe from the junior class of 2007 are backs Paddy Ferritier, Steven Gahl and Zach Kirby; and goalkeepers Josh Blank, Zach Riffet and spring 2005 addition Chad Akpabio-Wilson.
Finally, returning as sophomores are forwards Roland Erlichman and spring 2005 addition Eric Gladney; along with backs Joe Adams, Javier Castro, Ian Maio, Asher McClellan, Paul Mignogna, Derek Puerta and Shane Westbrook.
\"We have a solid core returning and this new group will mesh into the winning environment that the returnees worked hard to create,\" said Roberts. \"This class should allow us to continue to compete at the top-25 level and hopefully help get us further into the NCAA tournament. This group of athletes will add to our depth and make our upcoming pre-season camp very competitive.\"
