Valparaiso University men’s soccer head coach, Mike Avery, and his staff, announced on Wednesday a very promising recruiting class set to join the Crusaders in 2015. Coach Avery welcomes six new additions to his current squad. The 2015 class is representative of Valparaiso’s approach in Coach Avery’s tenure in that it features two of the top local products from Northwest Indiana, two talented additions from the Chicago area and two players with international experience. Valparaiso will announce a few additional signings in the next two weeks.
Billy Biehl (Chesteron, Ind.), Bradley Brack (Crown Point, Ind.), Hunter Finnegan (West Chicago, Ill.), Michael Marchionna (Naperville, Ill.), Johnny McArtor (Manila, Philippines) and Okama Thompson (Portmore, Jamaica) will all join Valpo in August for the 2015 season.
“We have had a really strong recruiting haul this year, kicked off early with the additions of three transfers that began classes in January: Deven Mason (Albuquerque N.M./Va Tech), Isaiah Madrid, (Albuquerque, N.M./FGCU) and Gavin Craig (Chicago, Ill./Coastal Carolina),” Avery said. “These three have already begun training with the team and have helped us grow, and we expect this incoming group to do the same when they arrive in August.”
“As always, our emphasis has been on finding outstanding soccer players who are high character young men that fit the culture of our team and our university,” Avery added. “This search has once again led us all over the world to ultimately bring these guys home to Valparaiso. My coaching staff should get a special mention for their tireless work, as should our colleagues in the compliance and admissions offices. I also give a tremendous amount of credit to our current players, both the returning squad and the outgoing seniors. Their performance on the field has brought high level players to our doorstep, and their tightknit family culture has encouraged new additions through the door. We hope to build off a very good season in 2014, and we think we have found the right next group to help us continue our development as a program.”