University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Men's Soccer Adds 12 Newcomers For 2006 Season
May 18, 2006 | Men's Soccer
May 18, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Coming off a trip to the quarterfinals of the 2005 NCAA Championship, the University of North Carolina will add 11 prep standouts and St. John's transfer Garry Lewis to its 2006 roster, head coach Elmar Bolowich announced Thursday. Newcomers Bradley Brown and Chad Dalton joined the program in January and trained with the Tar Heels this spring, while the remaining 10 signees will be in Chapel Hill in the fall.
"The quality of our 2006 recruiting class will assure us great depth in all positions on our squad," said Bolowich, who will coach his 18th season at Carolina next year. Some of the freshmen and transfer Garry Lewis will challenge for a starting position and significant playing time. There will be tremendous competition amongst all our players. The fact that we return 10 starters from last year's squad in addition to an excellent recruiting class will guarantee a well-balanced team. I am very excited to welcome the athletes in August to get the 2006 season started."
Highlighting the class is Lewis, who joins the Tar Heels after a standout freshman season at St. John's. The Orange Park, Fla., native earned second-team All-Big East honors and was named to the College Soccer News All-Freshman Third Team. Lewis started 21 of 22 games for the Red Storm and tallied 10 points on four goals and two assists.
Carolina also continued its success of recruiting the U.S. Under-17 National Team Residency Program in Brandenton, Fla., with the addition of Eddie Ababio and Eric Lichaj, who both helped the team qualify for the 2005 Under-17 World Cup. Ababio, who was born in Ghana, was a 2005 Parade All-America, an NSCAA Youth All-America and was named the St. Petersburg Times Player of the Year at Tampa's Gaither High School.
A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Lichaj is a four-time NSCAA Youth All-America selection and claimed Parade All-America honors in 2005. He spent three years in the residency program and will graduate from Edison Academy this month.
Lichaj and Huntsville, Ala., signee Bill Dworsky were recently selected to participate in the U.S. Under-20 camp to prep for the 2007 World Youth Championship. Dworsky was also a 2005 NSCAA Youth All-America selection and earned the Golden Boot Award at the 2005 adidas Elite Soccer Program. He led his Dallas Texans club team to the 2005 national title and the 2006 Dallas Cup Super Group championship.
Dallas defender David Rodriguez also has national team experience as a member of the under-18 player pool. He earned all-district honors at W.T. White High School and is a member of his regional ODP team.
One of the two early enrollees, Brown graduated in January from Raleigh's Millbrook High School and led CASL Elite to five state titles and a Super Y-League national crown. He played five years with the North Carolina Olympic Development Program (ODP) team and has been a member of regional ODP and Y-League regional pools.
A native of Land O'Lakes, Fla., Dalton earned NSCAA adidas All-Region III honors and all-state accolades as a sophomore and junior at Land O'Lakes High School. He was also a standout midfielder for the Brandon Flames club team.
In addition to Brown, the Tar Heels have added three more in-state standouts in defender John Black (Charlotte), forward Willie Griffin (Raleigh) and goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty (Cary). Black was a four-year starter at Charlotte Country Day and earned all-region honors as a senior, while Griffin earned NSCAA adidas All-South honors and all-state accolades at Broughton High School. Griffin has won five state titles with CASL Elite.
Haggerty was an all-state selection in goal at Cary High School and earned academic All-America honors. He is a four-year member of the Region III ODP team and has played six years with CASL Elite.
Rounding out the class is Verdigris, Okla., product Zach Loyd, who scored 90 goals and added 40 assists at Verdigris High School, and Monterrey, Mexico, forward Javier Velez, who attended the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Loyd was a three-time all-conference choice and was selected to play in the adidas ESP, while Velez has been a standout both in Mexico and in the United States.
2006 NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S SOCCER SIGNEES Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (Previous School/Club Team) Eddie Ababio F/M 5-11 165 Tampa, Fla. (Gaither/Hillsborough County United) John Black D 5-9 165 Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Country Day/Charlotte United FC) radley Brown M 6-1 180 Raleigh, N.C. (Millbrook/CASL Elite) Chad Dalton M 5-11 180 Land O'Lakes, Fla. (Land O'Lakes/Brandon Flames) ill Dworsky F 6-1 175 Huntsville, Ala. (Randolph School/Dallas Texans) Willie Griffin F 5-10 163 Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton/CASL Elite) rooks Haggerty GK 6-1 205 Cary, N.C. (Cary/CASL Elite) Garry Lewis M 5-10 165 Orange Park, Fla. (St. John's University/Jacksonville Jaguars) Eric Lichaj D 6-0 175 Downers Grove, Ill. (Edison Academy/Chicago Magic) Zach Loyd F/M 5-9 160 Verdigris, Okla. (Verdigris/Tulsa Nationals) David Rodriguez D 6-4 215 Dallas, Texas (W.T. White/FC Texas) Javier Velez F 5-10 165 Monterrey, Mexico (American School)
