After the Terrapin men’s soccer team won the 2005 national championship, coach Sasho Cirovski responded by signing a recruiting class which included Omar Gonzalez, Jeremy Hall and Drew Yates. Those players developed into key contributors on Cirovski’s second national title team, last year’s squad.
Now, Cirovski has attempted to repeat that process. Gonzalez and Hall bolted school early for the MLS this winter along with sophomore Rodney Wallace. A group of reliable seniors including A.J. Delagarza, Graham Zusi and Rich Constanzo left as well.
Cirovski announced his 2009 recruiting class on Tuesday. As one would have guessed with the loss of last year’s entire back line, the class is loaded with potential defenders. Even some of the recruits who were offensive midfielders or attackers in high school might see a switch to the back. Cirovski’s been known to switch around players in order to develop them in the positions that suit them best for potential professional careers.
The highlight of the class is Taylor Kemp, a 5-foot-11 Highlands Ranch, Colo., native, who was ranked as the No. 2 recruit in the nation by ESPN Rise magazine. Kemp brings all the accomplishments and experience of an elite college recruit. He was named a NSCAA All-American and is a member of the U-18 and U-20 National Team pools. It’s likely Kemp will see immediate time starting at left back in 2009, replacing Wallace.
Another notable recruit is Canadian Olivier Lacoste-Lebuis, a 6-foot-4 player with U-17 and U-20 Canadian National Team experience. Lacoste-Lebuis was a member of club team Racing Strasbourg’s (France) U-18 Academy Team, and turned down a contract offer to continue in their system. Is it possible Lacoste-Lebuis could be the long term replacement at center back for Gonzalez, who was also a highly-regarded offensively skilled 6-foot-4 player coming into the program?
How much the recruits play this upcoming season remains to be seen. But it’s clear Cirovski wanted to focus on defenders and did that. The Terps return both starting forwards in Casey Townsend and Jason Herrick. And even with the loss of Zusi and Hall, they have plenty of talent in the midfield with Yates, sophomore Matt Kassel, sophomore Kaoru Forbess and senior Doug Rodkey.
Much of this will play out in the spring exhibition season. The match I’m personally most interested to see is on April 17, when the Terps take on what should still be a very good Wake Forest team at RFK Stadium, before D.C. United plays the New England Revolution that night.
akrautdbk@gmail.com