SEATTLE – Two standout high school students,
Blaine Carver and
Connor Meppen, signed letters of intent to attend Seattle Pacific University and play on the men’s soccer team, Coach Mark Collings announced Thursday.
“This is always a fun day for all of us. We feel like we’re adding two great young men to our program that will add to our solid group of returning players,” Collings said. “Both Connor and Blaine attended our camp last summer, which enabled us to get a really good feel for both of them on a personal level. Of course their play on the field was sharp as well.”
Carver is the 2009 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year from Soldotna High School, which is located on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. He amassed 77 goals in just three prep campaigns, with his senior season still to play in the spring.
“The first time we saw Blaine was a year ago at a tournament in Arizona and he caught our attention because he was dangerous in the attacking third of the field,” Collings described. “We believe that Blaine will provide us with another dangerous threat to score goals.”
Meppen hails from the same Boise High School that produced Jessica Oakes, who signed Wednesday with the SPU women’s soccer team. He scored 22 career goals and distributed 25 assists for the Braves, who captured back-to-back Idaho state Class 5A championships in 2007 and 2008. Meppen is a member of the Boise Nationals that won the state club title in 2008.
“Connor will really help us in our attack next season. He’s solid technically and can both create and score goals,” said Collings. “We see him playing in our midfield or possibly as a front-runner. Connor’s understanding of the game will give us some great options.“
The two signees will begin their collegiate careers with training camp in August of 2010. They join an SPU team that did not receive a berth in the 2009 NCAA Division II Tournament despite an 11-5-3 mark that was a five-win improvement from the previous season’s record (6-10-3). The Falcons posted a 4-3-1 mark to place third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
Four seniors departed from last year’s team, leaving the squad with nine returning starters.
Collings projects that both recruits will fit in well at SPU, both athletically and academically. Carver compiled a 4.077 grade points average, including advanced placement credits, and Meppen posted a 3.80 GPA.
“With the majority of our team returning next fall we were forced to be pretty selective with our recruiting,” Collings concluded. “We feel like both of these young men exemplify what we were looking for and it all starts with the fact that both of them are exceptional students. “
2010 Seattle Pacific Men’s Soccer Recruiting Class
Blaine Carver, F, 5-10, Soldotna, AK (Soldotna HS/Kenai Peninsula SC)
Connor Meppen, MF, 5-9, Boise, ID (Boise HS/Boise Nationals)
2010 SPU MEN’S SOCCER SIGNEE PROFILES
Blaine Carver
Forward, 5-10, Soldotna, Alaska (Soldotna HS/Kenai Peninsula SC)
• Compiled a 4.077 grade point average
• Scored 77 career goals despite not playing spring senior season yet
• The 2009 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year
• Two-time all-state tournament team pick, in 2008 and 2009
• Named the 2009 Northern Lights Conference MVP
• First-team all-conference selection as a sophomore in 2008
• Member of the Kenai Peninsula Soccer Club from 2002-07 and 2009
• Helped Matanuska Soccer Club to second place in the 2008 state cup
• Participated with the Olympic Development Program in 2007
Coach Collings on Carver
“The first time we saw Blaine was a year ago at a tournament in Arizona and he caught our attention because he was dangerous in the attacking third of the field. We believe that Blaine will provide us with another dangerous threat to score goals.”
Connor Meppen
Midfielder, 5-9, Boise, Idaho (Boise HS/Boise Nationals)
• Compiled a 3.80 grade point average
• Led Boise High School to back-to-back Idaho Class 5A championships in 2007 and 2008
• Amassed 22 goals and 25 assists during his prep career
• A second-team all-district selection in 2009
• Voted the 2009 Boise High School Offensive Player of the Year
• Member of the Boise Nationals that won the 2008 state club championship
• Four-year participant in the Olympic Development Program
Coach Collings on Meppen
“Connor will really help us in our attack next season. He’s solid technically and can both create and score goals. We see him playing in our midfield or possibly as a front-runner. Connor’s understanding of the game will give us some great options.”