February 5, 2009
SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific men’s soccer coach Mark Collings received letters of intent Thursday from seven student-athletes who committed to attend Seattle Pacific University next year.
Three of the signees are from the state of Washington, including goalkeeper
Zach Johnson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS), midfielder
Christopher Morris (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island HS) and forward
Charlie Piehler (Renton, Wash.)
The recruiting class also features
Anthony Mohammed (Litchfield Park, Ariz.),
Caleb Nyone (Happy Valley, Ore.),
Jon Pearman (Glendale, Ariz.) and
Kyle Smurdon (Sherwood, Ore.)
Collings was thrilled that the Falcons signed every player they targeted.
“We made seven offers and all seven of them accepted, so that’s definitely exciting for us,” he exclaimed. “I expect all of them to come in and compete right away. We talked a lot about that in recruiting this year, needing guys that could come in ready both soccer-wise and physically to compete at this level. They all have come from programs that won and played at a high level.”
Johnson routinely shut out opponents both at Snohomish (Wash.) High School and at the Crossfire Academy.
“Zach has all of the tools to be a very successful goalkeeper at SPU,” Collings said. “His physical presence, athleticism and shot-stopping ability were a few of the things that drew us to Zach.”
Piehler was another member of the elite Crossfire club program. He was home schooled and did not compete for a high school team after his sophomore season at Kentridge, but that didn’t prevent numerous colleges throughout the West from recruiting him.
“Charlie is a tremendous young man with great passion for the game that he attributes to the coaching he has received at Crossfire. It seemed like each time we saw Charlie play he found a way to score goals,” explained Collings.
Morris was an All-KingCo honoree at Mercer Island (Wash.) High School. He also excelled on the club circuit with Eastside FC.
“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Chris Morris is competitor,” said Collings. “Chris is an intelligent player and has all of the technical skills necessary to be successful at SPU.”
A pair of club teammates from Arizona signed with the Falcons in Pearman and Mohammed. Pearman prepped at Cactus High School where he was the Regional Player of the Year. Mohammed is a product of Agua Fria High School and is a four-time All-West Valley Region first-team selection.
“Jon and Anthony are joining us from Cisco, one of the top clubs in Arizona. Jon will provide us with a physical presence at center back. He does a great job of reading the game and winning balls through the center of the field,” Collings described.
“Anthony will bolster our central midfield both as a play maker and as a ball winner. His creativity in the final third and passing ability should really help us this season.”
A duo from Oregon rounds out the recruiting class. Smurdon amassed 29 goals and 24 assists during his career at Sherwood High School. He was the Northwest Oregon Conference Player of the Year.
“We’re really excited about Kyle, who joins us after playing with Westside Metros for the last few years. He will add some speed and strength to the left side of the field. Kyle’s comfort getting forward out of the back should really help us,” Collings predicted.
A two-time league MVP at Portland Christian High School, Nyone was the state Player of the Year in Oregon.
“Caleb is just starting to understand how good he is,” said Collings. “His combination of athleticism and understanding of the game will give him the opportunity to compete right away for time along the back line.”
The signing class filled a variety of needs for the Falcons.
“We graduated a goalkeeper and with Zach, he has the ability to come in and compete right away,” Collings projected. “We gain some versatility in the back with three fantastic athletes that are big, strong and certainly have the ability to defend at this level. We have some creative midfielders that will allow us to keep possession better and provide us with some different things than we had this past year. Charlie gives us a great forward as far as creativity.”
The seven recruits will begin their collegiate careers with training camp in August of 2009. They join an SPU team that posted a 6-10-3 record and was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference runner-up with a 4-4 league mark. Five seniors departed from that team, leaving the squad with eight returning starters.
Collings anticipates that the outstanding group of recruits will challenge for playing time immediately.
“This class will provide us the opportunity to have a competitive environment day-in and day-out, which is what we want. We want our players to compete and top-to-bottom now we feel really confident that every player will be competing for playing time.”
2009 SEATTLE PACIFIC MEN'S SOCCER RECRUITING CLASS
Zach Johnson
Goalkeeper, 6-3, Fr., Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish)
Anthony Mohammed
Midfielder, 5-7, Fr., Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Agua Fria)
Christopher Morris
Midfielder, 6-0, Fr., Mercer Island, Wash. (Mercer Island)
Caleb Nyone
Defender, 6-0, Fr., Happy Valley, Ore. (Portland Christian)
Jon Pearman
Defender, 6-2, Fr., Glendale, Ariz. (Cactus)
Charlie Piehler
Forward, 5-9, Fr., Renton, Wash. (Kentridge)
Kyle Smurdon
Defender, 6-2, Fr., Sherwood, Ore. (Sherwood)