July 31, 2008
Complete list of College Soccer News' Top 40 Recruiting Classes for 2008
Complete list of College Soccer News' 100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On in 2008
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Stacked full of local, national, and international standout players, the 2008 UC Santa Barbara men's soccer recruiting class has garnered a No. 6 national ranking by College Soccer News (CSN). In addition, UCSB's incoming contingent is ranked No. 1 on the West Coast.
This year's Gaucho class features 14 first-year players and one transfer that will don the blue and gold for 10th-year head coach Tim Vom Steeg.
Broken down by position, the 2008 list includes one goalkeeper - Trond Helge Takset (Eidsa, Norway); four defenders - Rod Fahmian (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly HS), Tim Pontius (Yorba Linda, Calif./Servite HS), Taylor Thompson (Lake Oswego, Ore./Lakeridge HS), and Robbie Tulchin (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS); two forwards - Kyle McAthy (Huntington Beach, Calif./UCLA) and Reid Fraser (Victoria, B.C./Oak Bay Secondary); and eight midfielders - Vincent Alvarez (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS), Danny Barrera (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake HS), Christian Dahlskog (Falsterbo, Sweden/Marcus HS), Machael David (Tacoma, Wash./Gig Harbor HS), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga./Edison Academics Center), Peter McGlynn (Skerries, Ireland), David Ponce (Foothill Ranch, Calif./Trabuco Hills HS), and Michael Tetteh (Accra, Ghana/Dunn School).
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The 15 newcomers will join an equal number of returnees that helped UCSB to a fifth Big West Conference title and a sixth consecutive postseason berth in 2007. This year's large recruiting class will help fill offensive holes created by the departure of Eric Avila and Ciaran O'Brien to the MLS and complement returning Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year Chris Pontius and all-league selections Jon Curry and Alfonso Motagalvan.
Leading this year's CSN rankings were Maryland, Wake Forest (the 2007 national champion), Indiana, North Carolina, and Akron. Following UCSB were Virginia, UCLA, Santa Clara, and Duke to round out the top-ten. UC Irvine, the only other Big West team in the top-40 rankings, came in at No. 40.
In addition, CSN named UCSB's Danny Barrera and Bryan Dominguez two of its "100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On in 2008". Both players are two-time NSCAA Youth All-Americans and were the first two recruits signed by the UCSB coaching staff this year.
The Gauchos, which followed up their national championship season with a 13-4-4 overall record (9-1-2 Big West) in 2007, kick of their 2008 campaign with an exhibition match against cross-town rival Westmont on Saturday, August 23. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium.
-- www.UCSBGauchos.com --
