Players Mentioned
Men's Soccer Inks Seven to NLI
6/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall University men’s soccer team has inked seven student-athletes to national letters of intent it was announced Wednesday by head men’s soccer coach Gerson Echeverry.
Goalkeeper Brandon Barnes (Cary, Ill.), midfielder Nicholas Coppola (Florham Park, N.J.), midfielder Samuel Geiler (Offenburg, Germany), midfielder Tamino Kroeger (Weyhe, Germany), midfielder Alexander Megna (Hales Corners, Wis./University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), defender Shawn Morrison (York, Pa.) and goalkeeper Julian Spindler (Weiersbach, Germany) comprise the first full recruiting class for Echeverry at Seton Hall.
“I am really happy with this group of student-athletes, I believe it helps set a nice foundation for the type of program we are trying to build here at Seton Hall,” Echeverry said. “This class will provide depth at a number of positions while also fighting for some starting spots.”
Barnes was a goalkeeper for Prairie Ridge High School and Socker’s FC Chicago. Over two and a half seasons as the starting goalkeeper for Prairie Ridge he compiled 470 saves, setting a new school record with 27 stops in a single game. He led his team to a third-place showing in the sectional playoffs and earned All-Illinois Fox Valley Conference honors and Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Section 6 All-Sectional Honorable Mention Goalkeeper accolades.
“Brandon is a talented goalkeeper who appears to have a great deal of potential,” Echeverry said. “He will give us some needed depth at that position and I expect him to develop into an asset that will challenge for playing time.”
Coppola was a two-year letterwinner at Seton Hall Prep, garnering All-Super Essex Conference Honorable Mention honors as a senior. During his time at Seton Hall Prep the program won three out of four Essex County Championships and his club team Ironbound SC was a 2013 Super Y League finalist and won the 2013 Region I Colonial League championship.
“Nick is a player that is known for his great work ethic,” Echeverry said. “He is a strong two-way player who will fill a utility role at first as he begins to challenge for more minutes.”
Geiler comes to Seton Hall from Offenburg, Germany, where he played for the Offenbuger FV U16 and FC Kaiserslautern U17 and U19 club teams. As a member of the Kaiserslautern U19 squad he helped his team win the Regionalliga Südwest championship and place second in the U19 DFB-Pokal tournament.
“Sammy is a talented midfielder who I learned more about when I was looking at one of our other recruits, Julian Spindler,” Echeverry said. “I believe that he will definitely provide some added depth to the midfield.”
Krueger hails from Weyhe, Germany, and suited up for SC Weyhe. He was honored as a Landesuaswahl Bremen (country selection) from 2007-09 and helped lead Weyhe to a fifth-place finish in the A-Junior Budesliga when he scored 10 goals with 10 assists in his second year with the club.
“Tamino is a player who has shown some signs of being able to combine with others and I think he will provide some different attacking options for us,” Echeverry said.
Megna is transferring to Seton Hall from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he played at midfield for the Panthers. He enjoyed a very successful prep career at Marquette University High School where he was named the 2010 Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year in addition to being tabbed as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American. He scored the game-winning goal for Marquette University High in the 2010 state championship game, capping off a 22-4-1 season that saw his team finish the year ranked No. 17 in the nation by the NSCAA.
“Alex is a transfer student who I think is looking to come here and get a chance to really prove himself,” Echeverry said. “I think he will have a chance to fill in and battle for a chance to play in a defensive midfielder role.”
Morrison earned four varsity letters in soccer at Central York High School and also suited up for the Pennsylvania Classics club team. He was a two-time All-State selection and was also a member of the NSCAA High School Boys All Region II team in 2012 when he scored 10 goals to go along with 13 assists. Morrison helped lead the Classics to the US Soccer Development Academy U16 national championship in 2010 and the national finals in 2011.
“Shawn is a very technical player, a good defender and will fight for playing time because of his attributes on and off the ball,” Echeverry said. “As a natural lefty he will provide depth at the outside back position.”
Spindler is from Weiersbach, Germany, where he attended Heinrich-Heine-Gymnasium. He suited up for FC Kaiserslautern from 2005-11, competing for the club’s U13-U18 squads, and also played for the FC Saarbrücken U19 team.
“I was able to see Julian train a number of times in Germany and I thought he performed really well,” Echeverry said. “He is a physical presence and I think he will battle with our other keepers for playing time.”
Seton Hall opens its 2013 campaign on Friday, Aug. 30, when it hosts Rhode Island University at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, N.J., at 7 p.m.
