March 17, 2004
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette men's soccer head coach Dennis Bohn has announced the signing of 13 recruits for the 2004 season.
The class features three forwards, five midfielders and five defenders. The 13 incoming student-athletes hail from seven different states, including three apiece from New York and New Jersey and a pair from Texas and Massachusetts.
"This is an exceptional group of student-athletes that will make a huge impact on the future of our program," Bohn said. "I think the combination of our wonderful academics and great soccer tradition gave us the opportunity to recruit this talented collection of players from all over the nation. With the loss of nine seniors, our assistant coach Josh Shapiro worked very hard to help bring in this deep of a class."
With the 2003 Patriot League champions losing their top three scorers to graduation, incoming freshman forwards Stefan McVeigh (Northampton, Mass./Cathedral), Mark Price (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) and Mike Tilley (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) could all have an opportunity to make an impact early in their Leopard careers.
McVeigh, the Massachusetts High School Player of the Year, is only the third player in Western Massachusetts history to surpass 100 career points. He earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region and All-America honors and played for the Western United '85 club team that won three Massachusetts State Cup championships.
Price earned All-Region and All-Ohio First-Team honors at Dublin Scioto and helped lead his club team, Premier Adidas, to a pair of Ohio State Cup championships. Price also participated in the Adidas ESP Camp, which features the top 200 high school seniors in the nation. Price will be the third Adidas ESP invitee on the Lafayette roster, joining Victor Krasij and Justin Esposito.
Tilley is the second recruit from Massachusetts, joining McVeigh. He collected All-State First-Team honors in high school and is a member of the SUNS club team.
Ben Abrams (Colorado Springs, Colo./William J. Palmer) will be Lafayette's first player from the state of Colorado during Bohn's tenure. The midfielder was an Academic All-State selection and was named All-State Honorable Mention. He plays club soccer for the Colorado Springs Pride Predators.
Scott Hawkins (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park) hails from the same high school as Lafayette's 2002 team MVP Paulo Coelho '03. Hawkins holds the school record for most goals in a single season with 25 from his midfield position. An All-North Jersey Group I First-Team selection as a senior, Hawkins plays club soccer for the N.J. Dynamo and is a member of the New Jersey '86 Olympic Development Program (ODP) team.
Also bolstering the Leopards' midfield will be Anthony Sepe (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel), Brian Kuritzky (Croton, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) and Devin MaGrann (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional).
Sepe was an All-Region and All-New York First-Team choice in his senior year and helped lead his club team, Yorktown Spirit, to an Eastern New York State Cup championship. He was also part of the Eastern New York '86 ODP team and was selected to the Region 1 ODP team. Kuritzky garnered All-Region and All-New York First-Team honors in high school. He plays his club soccer for the New Rochelle Tigers. MaGrann was an All-South Jersey Group IV First-Team honoree and plays for the South Jersey Barons Club.
Defenders Evan Cohen (Denton, Texas/Billy Ryan) and Kyle Gillespy (Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie) give the Leopards a total of three recruits from the state of Texas in the past two seasons. Thomas Harju joined the Lafayette program from Richardson, Texas a year ago.
Cohen was a three-sport varsity athlete in high school, running cross country and kicking for the football team in addition to his role on the soccer team. He also played for the Dallas Comets White club program. Gillespy helped national power Solar FC win the North Texas State Cup championship in 2002. He was also a part of the North Texas '87 ODP team.
Jordan Cullinane (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) is the fourth recruit in as many years to come to Lafayette via the Oakwood Soccer Club pipeline. The All-New England and All-Connecticut First-Team honoree follows in the footsteps of current Leopards Krasij, Mike Tortora and Chris Doney as members of Oakwood SC who chose Lafayette.
Rounding out the class are defenders Ori Kalmus (Princeton Junction, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro) and Luke Sullivan (Slingerlands, N.Y./Bethlehem Central). Kalmus has honed his skills in the club ranks with Hibernian FC and also plays with future classmate Hawkins on the New Jersey '86 ODP team. Sullivan is part of the East Greenbush Gladiators club program and played high school soccer at the alma mater of former Lafayette star Tim Wenger '00.
Lafayette (11-6-3) won the 2003 Patriot League Tournament championship, its fifth tournament title in the past 10 years, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history.
