July 21, 2008

BOSTON - The Boston University men's soccer team and head coach Neil Roberts announced the signing of 11 student-athletes for the 2008 season. Nicolas Ampuero, Ben Berube, Michael Bustamante, Terence Ciavarra, George Drouillard, Colin Henry, Stephen Knox, Peter Mehlert, Trevor McManamon, Matt Pereira and Aaron Rosenberg will bolster a squad that earned the program's 13th trip to the NCAA tournament under Roberts in 2007.

Five of the 11 freshmen are from the state of Massachusetts and are joined by athletes from California, Maryland, Michigan, Trinidad, Colombia, and Italy.

Ampuero hails from Bassano del Grappa, Italy and was part of a Bassano Virtus 55 team that won the regional championship as a sophomore. The rookie belonged to the U.S. Angarano Azzurra and Bassano Virtus 55 soccer teams and the city All-Star team as a freshman. Berube, a Somerset, Mass. native, was a three-year team captain and led Somerset High School to one state championship in 2004 and two Eastern Athletic Conference championships in 2006 and 2007. He earned all-state honors three times, was named an All-American as a senior and led the team in scoring as a junior and senior.

Bustamante was a four-year captain at Chelsea High School in Massachusetts. A four-time Commonwealth League champion, the Colombia native was a three-time league all-star and MVP and was named a New England All-Scholastic and Boston Globe All-Scholastic as a senior. Ciavarra was a four-year starter for Worcester Academy. The product of Sutton, Mass. was named to the 2007 Class A All-New England Prep and NCSCAA adidas All-Region teams as a senior as well as earned all-state honors that season. Ciavarra won three state championships with Juventus USA.

Drouillard co-captained his team to the state title as a senior along with making the state semi-finals three times with his club team, the SSU Blazers. Henry, out of Norwell, Mass., was a four-time league All-Star and a two-time league MVP, Eastern Mass. All-Star and all-state selection. As a senior, Pereira served as team captain at Woburn Memorial High School and earned Middlesex League MVP, Eastern Mass All-Star team, all-state, and all-New England honors.

San Jose, Calif. native McManamon led Bellarmine to its third straight West Catholic Athletic League title and second CCS Division I championship as a senior captain. He was named All-CCS Second Team, and his team finished No. 3 in the nation with a record of 26-1-2.

Mehlert, a product of Chevy Chase, Md., was a two-time WCAC champion with Gonzaga College High School. Mehlert received Washington Post All-Met honorable mention and All-WCAC Second Team honors as a senior. He played club soccer for the Maryland state champion Potomac Cougars.

Knox comes to BU all the way from Trinidad, where he was the starting center forward for the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 National team during the FIFA U-17 World Cup and scored 21 goals for the team. He is a current member of the U-20 National team and captained his high school team to two league finals and one title.

Rosenberg was a three-year high school team captain and four-year member of the state Olympic Development Program. The West Bloomfield, Mich., native was part of the Regional Pool ODP three times, a five-time club state champion overall and named all-state as a senior.