Lions Reload For 2008 Season

July 7, 2008

After losing eight seniors, six of whom were starters and including the two leading scorers, most people would say that the 2008 season will be a rebuilding year.  Scott Davidson and Manoel Silva, both AAC All-Conference Honorees and Davidson a 1st Team All-Region XII NAIA player, were lost to graduation.  However, the coaching staff has been hard at work this offseason and have successfully reloaded for the upcoming campaign.

"The British are coming," is what Coach Zensen is saying.  Five of the players coming in are from the U.K.: Lyle Gifford (midfielder), Jonathan Houghton (midfielder/defender), Joe Kane (midfielder/defender), Darrell Birch (midfielder/defender), and Harry Sherwood (central defender/forward).  Two Brazilians will also transfer in as sophomores: Giovani Andrades (6’3” central midfielder) and Rodrigo Pigatto (goalkeeper).  Lee Rickman, from Wesleyan Academy in North Carolina, is a central defender that will be joining us as well.  These eight student athletes along with three other potential recruits (1 from Scotland, 1 from U.K., 1 from U.S.) will make up what Coach Zensen considers to potentially be the strongest recruiting class in the last twenty years.

This recruiting class along with the thirteen returning varsity players, five of which were starters, is why this offseason has the coaching staff excited about the upcoming year.  We will be looking for the Lions to be legitimate contenders for the AAC title!