LIMESTONE MEN’S SOCCER ADDS 11 PLAYERS TO 2007 ROSTERLimestone is coming off it’s best season in school history, posting a 13-3-6 record, along with a Conference Tournament Championship, it’s first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, ranked 2nd in the NCAA Southeast Region, and ranked 19th in the final NSCAA/Adidas Division II National Ranking. The Saints will be returning 10 of the 11 starters from last season’s team, including four players who earned All-Conference and All-Region recognition along with the program’s first All-American.
The Limestone College men’s soccer team has added six freshmen, two junior college transfers and three international players to their roster for the 2007 season, announced head coach Eric Alsop. The class includes three players from Maryland, two from England, and one each from Arizona, Massachusetts, New Zealand, Scotland, South Carolina, and Texas.
“This is the strongest recruiting class we’ve seen in the past four years, and we have high expectations for next year’s team,” said Alsop. “We feel that all of these players will make an immediate impact on our program, adding much needed depth at all positions, with several of the newcomers fighting for starting positions right from the onset. With the overall strength, knowledge, passion, commitment and ability of this class, combined with the foundations laid by our returning players, we fully expect to achieve all of our goals for next season.”
Three former high school teammates from Maryland join the Saints. Tyrone Hall is a forward from Glen Burnie, Md., and Mount St. Joseph High School. He was team captain and was named First-Team All-Metro, First-Team MIAA, and First-Team All-State his senior year. Hall also played club soccer with the Bethesda United Soccer Club and has extensive ODP experience at both the state and regional levels.
A defender from Elliot City, Md., Donald Gibson played alongside Hall for Mount St. Joseph High School and the Bethesda United Soccer Club. Gibson also played for the Maryland ODP program. In addition to his playing honors, he was named to the National Honors Society in 2006. Gibson and Hall’s high school team won the 2005 State Championship, and their club team earned the State Championship, Region I Championship, and qualified for Nationals in 2006.
Hailing from Baltimore, Myles Jackson rounds out the new Maryland players. Jackson originally went to high school with Gibson and Hall before transferring to the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute for his final two years. He was named First-Team All-Baltimore City his senior year, played club soccer for Baltimore Bays United, and has experience with the Maryland ODP program.
Matt Finlay, a central defender/defensive midfielder from Liverpool, England, attended St. Margaret’s School where he was twice named Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year. Finlay has represented the Lancashire Boys County Squad and is currently a member of the Lancaster & Morecambe College Academy.
Tom Morris, from Berkshire, England, is a central midfielder from the Chiltern Edge School where he was team captain. Morris was also captain at Henley College and for the Henley Town U-18 Team.
A junior college transfer from Pima Community College in Arizona, outside midfielder Griffin Roxbury earned First-Team All-ACCAC honors his sophomore year, was named team captain, and ranked second on his team in total points with five goals, nine assists for 19 points. Originally from Tucson, Ariz., Roxbury was named All-ACCAC Honorable Mention his freshman year at Pima, and First-Team All-City, Second-Team All-State, and captain his senior year at Mountain View High School. He also played club soccer for the Tucson Soccer Academy and captained the Arizona ODP program.
Andrew Sousa, a central midfielder from Fall River, Mass., was team captain for B.M.C. Durfee High School his senior year. He led the team in assists in his junior and senior years, and was named All-Conference, Big Three Conference All-Star, Herald News Athlete of the Week, and earned the Academic Excellence Award during his senior year. Sousa also played club soccer for Bayside United F.C., Blackwatch R.I. and the Nor’easter’s.
Mark Johnston, a central midfielder/defender originally from Nelson, New Zealand, also joins the Saints from Pima Community College. Johnston was team co-captain, along with teammate Roxbury, and was also named First-Team All-ACCAC his sophomore year. Before coming to America, Johnston played for New Zealand’s U-17 National Team.
A forward from Glasgow, Scotland, Michael McEmerson played for St. Andrews High School and Park Villa Football Club. Constant qualifiers for the Scottish Cup, McEmerson’s team made it as far as the semi-finals in his final year. Among his many accomplishments, McEmerson was awarded the School Player of the Year medal and was Top Goal Scorer of the Year with 30 goals.
H.B. Lockwood is a goalkeeper from Anderson, S.C. Lockwood played prep soccer for T.L. Hanna High School where he served as team captain as a senior. He also played club soccer for the CESA 89 Boys Challenge Team.
Rounding out the incoming class is Brian Hurlburt. An outside defender/midfielder from Coppell, Texas, Hurlburt played for Coppell Senior High School and for the DFW Tejanos Soccer Club.
http://athletics.limestone.edu/MSOC04122007_1.htm
