Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer to Welcome Six Newcomers in 2010
2/26/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Feb. 26, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Coming off a record-setting 2009 season, Bucknell head men's soccer coach Brendan Nash has announced that six promising recruits will be joining the program in 2010. Joining the reigning Patriot League champions will be defender Mayowa Alli of Lanham, Md.; midfielder Josh Butzke of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.; Aidan Hoolachan of Ellicott City, Md.; goalkeeper Orman Kimbrough of Winter Park, Fla.; defender Joe Meyer of Bethesda, Md.; and forward Alex Prieto of Princeton Junction, N.J.
“After two straight nationally ranked recruiting classes we were able to be more targeted in our recruiting this year," said Nash, the 2009 Patriot League and Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. "This is a smaller class, but we feel it fits all the needs we went after. The last few years we have been more focused on bringing in student-athletes from winning programs. These six young men all come from winning programs and we want them to bring that attitude with them to Bucknell University. During the recruiting process we also put an emphasis on bringing in student-athletes that will help our team chemistry. These six student-athletes certainly fit right into the goals for the program."
The Bison posted a school-record 17 victories against only six losses last fall. For the second time in the last four years, they not only captured the Patriot League title, but they won a first-round NCAA Tournament game as well. This year's 1-0 win over Princeton in the NCAAs was the team's school-record 12th shutout of the season.
Bucknell bids adieu to the winningest senior class in program history, including All-American Conor O'Brien, Academic All-American Patrick Selwood, starting midfielder Sean King, along with Alex Meisel and Will Byrne. Hoping to pick up the slack are these six newcomers:
| MAYOWA ALLI Defender # Lanham, Md. # Bishop McNamara Alli was named the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was also named Washington Post and the Gazette-Star Player of the Year. His Soccer Association of Columbia club team has won numerous championships. Nash on Alli: "Mayowa is a big, strong, athletic defender as well as a natural lefty. Mayowa plays with lots of passion and he loves to get his uniform dirty, which is something we like in all of our defenders. He also has a big throw, which will make us even more dangerous on restarts. We felt left back was our No. 1 need in this recruiting class and we couldn't be happier with Mayowa joining our program. Even though Andrew Powell did a fantastic job at left back last year it will make us stronger moving Andrew to one of the other three back spots after Mayowa is ready to play. |
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| JOSH BUTZKE Midfielder # Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. # Comsewogue Butzke was named First Team All-State during both his junior and senior years. He was also named a Regional All-American as well as League V MVP in 2008 and 2009. His Comsewogue team won back to back state championships in 2008 and 2009. Butzke has also won state championships with his Massapequa Aces club team, and he was a member of the ENYSA ODP team in 2007-08. Nash on Butzke: "Josh is a winner plain and simple. He plays in the middle of the field and adjusts his game to what his team needs to win the game. He can play either attacking or defending center mid equally well. We are losing quite a bit in the middle of the field through graduation. We feel Josh will eventually be able to help fill some of those holes." |
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| AIDAN HOOLACHAN Ellicott City, Md. # Mount Hebron Hoolachan has played various positions for both his high school and club team (Soccer Assocation of Columbia). He helped Mount Hebron win a state championship in 2006, and he has been captain for both his high school and club teams. Hoolachan was named First Team All-State his senior year. Nash on Hoolachan: "Aidan is going to surprise a lot of people. What he lacks in height he makes up for with heart, work rate and athleticism. Aidan is a team player who can play multiple spots. He has also been a leader for any team he has played with. Aidan reminds me a lot of Justin Wolf, which we consider quite a compliment to a student-athlete." |
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| ORMAN KIMBROUGH Goalkeeper # Winter Park, Fla. # Winter Park Kimbrough played goalkeeper for both his high school and club team (Florida Soccer Alliance). He has been a three-year starter and was named team captain. Kimbrough played for the Florida ODP Team from 2007-2010 and was named to the Region III Team in 2009-10. Nash on Kimbrough: "With the graduation of Will Byrne we felt we needed to add another quality goalkeeper. Orman will fit in with our keepers well. He is a hard worker who works with a GK trainer year round. Orman is very quick in goal and a great shot stopper. He is very good with his feet and distributes very well. Once he gains the confidence to control our defense he will be able to battle for minutes in goal." |
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| JOE MEYER Defender # Bethesda, Md. # McDonogh Meyer has played right back for both his high school and club teams (Baltimore Casa Mia Bays). He won back to back national championships in 2007 and 2008 with his club team and was named captain for his nationally ranked high school team during both his junior and senior years. He was named All-MIAA in 2008 and 2009. Nash on Meyer: "Joe came through our summer camp and we are very excited with his potential. He is a strong right back who does a great job coming forward into the attack. With his speed and technical ability he will fit in perfectly to how we like to play. Joe has been a staple at right back for both of his highly succesful club and high school teams. We expect more of the same when he gets to Bucknell." |
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| ALEX PRIETO Forward # Princeton Junction, N.J. # West Windsor Plainsboro South Prieto played forward for both his high school and club teams (WWP Patriots). He was named Second Team All-State and the Colonial Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Prieto was also named MVP of his track and field team. Nash on Prieto: "Alex was another player who came through our summer camps. He showed us how dynamic he was as an attacking player. Alex has great speed and is also a lefty. This will give us more options for our offense. We feel Alex was overlooked because he is so commited to his track and field program, but he has a huge upside once he starts training in our program year round." |
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