MORROW, Ga. - July 30, 2008 – Fresh off a third straight
Peach Belt Conference championship and third NCAA Division II
National Tournament berth in the last four season, Clayton State
men’s head soccer coach Pete Petersen is
“reloading” the Lakers for the 2008 season.
Petersen announced on Thursday the Laker recruiting class of 20
newcomers for the upcoming season. Clayton State lost 18 players
off last season’s stellar 14-4-2 squad. That included nine
graduating seniors, plus three underclassmen that left to pursue
professional possibilities overseas and three more underclassmen
sitting out this season with academic issues.
This season’s Clayton State recruiting class is a wide range
from an NAIA All-American to an NJCAA All-American, plus two
Division I transfers, three Division II transfers and two more
junior college transfers. On top of that, 11 top-quality freshmen
join the Laker fold to build towards a strong future for Clayton
State men’s soccer.
“There is a lot of talent assembled here,” said
Petersen, 49-21-10 in four seasons at the Laker helm.
“It’s going to be like Christmas Day, opening a gift
and seeing what it is. I can’t wait to get this bunch on the
field, but it will be a massive learning curve. In a way,
it’s more exciting seeing them learn to become a team in the
process.”
Headlining this year’s crop of newcomers is two legitimate
All-Americans – goalkeeper Glen Fox, who comes to Clayton
State from NAIA power Lindsey Wilson, and midfielder Kyle Timm from
junior college power Tyler Junior College.
Fox, who prepped at nearby McIntosh High School in Peachtree City,
Ga., started three seasons in goal for head coach Ray Wells’
Blue Raiders, helping pace Lindsey Wilson to the 2005 NAIA National
Champion, plus the second round of the 2006 NAIA National
Tournament and the 2007 NAIA “Elite Eight.” For his
career at Lindsey Wilson, he posted a 0.59 goals-against average,
allowing only 27 goals with 108 saves in 49 games.
Fox was selected All-Mid-South Conference, NAIA All-Region XI and
NAIA All-American this past season.
Timm, a junior from Johannesburg, South Africa, was a two-time
NJCAA All-Region selection for head coach Steve Clements at Tyler
Junior College and earned NJCAA first team All-American honors this
past season with two goals and six assists from the midfield. In
two seasons at Tyler, Timm helped pace the Apaches to the NJCAA
Region 14 Tournament twice, and final NSCAA junior college national
rankings of seventh in 2006 and eighth in 2007.
He continues a growing pipeline of Tyler standouts to continue
their careers at Clayton State. Former two-time All-Peach Belt
Conference and All-Southeast Region midfielder Hailab Habtom and
All-Southeast Region defender from last season Karl Haggon were
standouts at Tyler.
It doesn’t stop, however, with Fox and Timm. Petersen
welcomes Division I transfers Patrick Ahern (Evansville) and Ben
LeBlois (South Carolina) on defense, plus Division II transfers
Liam Brown (Limestone) on defense and Jonathan McKeever (Queens)
and Sam Bevan (Coker) at midfield. In addition, goalkeeper David
Cristofoli (Tyler) and defender Jesse Moret (South Georgia) come to
Clayton State via the junior college route.
Ahern, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior from Norcross, Ga., and the
Norcross Soccer Association lettered one season each at Evansville.
He brings a big, physical presence to the Laker defense with an
aggressive style of play. The same is true for LeBlois, a 6-0,
170-pounder from Atlanta who prepped at the Atlanta International
School and played club soccer for the Concorde Fire. He signed last
season out of high school with South Carolina after breaking the
school scoring record at Atlanta International.
Laker fans should be very familiar with Brown, a 6-1, 180-pound
junior from Glasgow, Scotland. Over the last couple of seasons, he
helped lead Limestone’s resurgence in men’s soccer in
Conference Carolinas.
He started 19 games in 2006 with two goals and seven assists as an
outside back, pacing Limestone to the Conference Carolinas
Tournament Championship and the program’s first ever NCAA
Division II National Tournament berth. Last season, he scored two
goals with four assists in 12 starts for the Saints. One of those
goals was, oddly enough, against Clayton State in the Lakers’
2-1 overtime victory over Limestone.
McKeever, a 6-2, 170-pounder from Lawrenceville, Ga., lettered two
seasons for head coach Fred Norchi’s program at Queens. In
his freshman season in 2006, McKeever scored four goals in pacing
the Royals to the Conference Carolinas regular season championship
and the NCAA Division II “Elite Eight.” He prepped
locally at Central Gwinnett High School and played club soccer for
the Silverbacks.
Bevan, a 6-4, 180-pounder from Norcross, Ga., who played club
soccer for the Atlanta Fire United, started all 18 games this past
season for head coach Robert Lane at Coker, scoring two goals in
the process. Bevan will redshirt this season, and then have three
seasons of eligibility in a Laker uniform.
Further strengthening the Clayton State-Tyler Junior College
pipeline is Cristofoli. The 6-1, 190-pound junior from
Johannesburg, South Africa was an All-Region selection this past
season for the nationally-ranked Apaches, recording a 0.70
goals-against average with 13 saves and only six goals allowed.
Moret comes to Clayton State from head coach Al Horner’s
stellar South Georgia College program in Douglas, Ga. The 5-10,
165-pound junior from Palm Bay, Fla., started 13 games last season
for the Tigers, recording one assist and pacing South Georgia to a
13-5-1 record and the semifinals of the NJCAA Region XVII
Tournament.
A standout from virtually Clayton State’s own backyard from
the Fayetteville Lightning Club headlines the stellar group of
incoming freshmen. Forward Ryan Pugh was a three-year standout for
head coach Shane Pullam at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville,
Ga. He was a three-time All-Region selection and All-State
selection this past season in leading Whitewater to the Class AAAA
state finals.
As a sophomore, Pugh scored 17 goals with three assists, and had a
stellar senior season with 15 goals and 12 assists to earn a berth
in the Class AAAA All-Star Game.
Joining Pugh as in-state recruits for Clayton State is defender
Robert Loomis from White County High School in Cleveland, Ga.
(Georgia Futbol Club); forward Seth Scott from North Forsyth High
School in Cumming Ga. (Concorde Fire), and midfielder Leonardo
Martinez from Forsyth Central High School in Cumming (Alianza
Futbol Club). Loomis was the Warriors’ leading scorer all
four seasons at White County, while Scott and Martinez were both
two-time All-County and All-Region selections.
Bolstering the Laker attack at forward are a pair of South African
speedsters – freshman Leighton Fredericks from Johannesburg
and Jonathan Ray from Durban. Another South African, Roger
Boniface, will add strength and speed to the Laker midfield, as
will Englishmen Matty Phillips and Stephen Behan.
On defense, Stuart McFarlane (6-2, 185) from Falkirk, Scotland, and
Chris Carman (6-3, 180) from Glosterhire, England give the Lakers
added size and strength on the defensive backline.
Clayton State starts preseason practice on Aug. 10, and the Lakers
open the 2008 season at home on Aug. 28 against Nova Southeastern.
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