• VIDEO: Coach Mark Collings

SEATTLE – Men's soccer coach Mark Collings received letters of intent from five standout student-athletes, including four from high schools in the state of Washington, who committed to attend Seattle Pacific University next year.
 
The quartet of local signees includes defender Jeffrey Collings from Seattle's Ballard High School, the son of Falcons coach Mark Collings. Also from Washington are midfielder Chaz Jenkins from Everett High, midfielder Jordan Kollars from Central Kitsap High in Silverdale and forward Jordan Thompson from Newport High in Bellevue.
 


“One thing that we've been working hard on is establishing ourselves locally and locking down some of the top local talent,” Coach Collings said. “We believe this class has done that with Jordan Kollars coming to us from the Sounders Academy, Chaz and Jeffrey from the Crossfire Academy, and Jordan Thompson from last year's national finalist Eastside FC.”
 
The Falcons have had great success with players from Arizona. They raided the Grand Canyon state again, this time getting forward Stephen MacDonald from Sandra Day O'Connor High School in Phoenix.
 
“Of course we're always looking to snag a couple of impact guys from outside of Washington and once again we were able to convince someone to leave Arizona for the Pacific Northwest in Stephen MacDonald,” Collings exclaimed.
 
“All five of these guys are great students and came highly recommended as young men. During the recruiting process we spoke to a variety of people about each of these student athletes and each one of these guys received glowing reviews from everyone we spoke to. This class is consistent with our previous recruiting classes in that all of these guys are great people, good students, have a desire to get better, and really wanted to be a part of SPU and our soccer program.”
 
Kollars is currently a member of the Seattle Sounders Academy, a club that recruiting classmates Collings and Thompson played with in the past.
 
The five newest Falcons will begin their collegiate careers with training camp in August. They join an SPU team that registered an 11-3-5 record last season, placed second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and participated in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight season.
 
Ten seniors departed from last year's team, leaving the squad with five returning starters.
 
“We're really happy with our recruiting class for 2013. We lost 10 players to graduation and another one to injury so this group of players is really important not only to the future of SPU soccer, but also to our team next fall.
 
“We've covered several areas of need with these players. Jordan Thompson and Stephen MacDonald give us two proven goal scorers up front. Jordan Kollars is an anchor for the midfield and Chaz Jenkins gives us some toughness and a ball winner in the middle of the park. We lost three of our starting backs and we believe Jeffrey Collings is going to give our back line a boost with his ability to play anywhere across the back four.”
 
 
2013 Seattle Pacific Men's Soccer Recruiting Class
Jeffrey Collings
D, 5-9, 175, Seattle, Wash. (Ballard HS/Crossfire Academy)

Chaz Jenkins
MF, 5-11, 180, Marysville, Wash. (Everett HS/Crossfire Academy)

Jordan Kollars
MF, 5-10, 160, Silverdale, Wash. (Central Kitsap HS/WestSound FC)

Stephen MacDonald
F, 6-2, 180, Phoenix, Ariz. (Sandra Day O'Connor/SC del Sol)

Jordan Thompson
F, 5-8, 150, Bellevue, Wash. (Newport HS/Eastside FC)
 
 
 
JEFFREY COLLINGS
Defender, 5-9, 175, Seattle, Wash. (Ballard HS/Crossfire Academy)
 
Jeffrey Collings currently plays under Coach Bernie James at Crossfire Academy along with SPU signee Chaz Jenkins. He was a member of the Sounders Academy squad that placed fifth in the nation at the 2011 Academy Finals. Collings participated with the Olympic Development program from 2007-10. He is a three-star recruit in the rankings produced by TopDrawerSoccer.com. As a freshman and sophomore at Ballard High School, Collings garnered All-KingCo honorable mention acclaim. The son of Seattle Pacific head coach Mark Collings, he compiled an outstanding 3.98 grade point average.
 
Coach Collings on Jeffrey Collings
“Jeffrey is ready to contribute to our team right now. His work ethic, ability to tackle and communication skills will be a welcome addition to our backline. Jeffrey's tactical understanding and athleticism will give him an opportunity to play multiple positions on the field, but at this point we're looking at him playing in the back.”
 
 
CHAZ JENKINS
Midfielder, 5-11, 180, Marysville, Wash. (Everett HS/Crossfire Academy)
 
Chaz Jenkins currently plays under Coach Bernie James at Crossfire Academy along with SPU signee Jeffrey Collings. He is a three-star recruit in the rankings produced by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Jenkins participated with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and traveled to Italy in 2010 to compete against the Inter Milan Academy. He has a 3.5 grade point average.
 
Coach Collings on Chaz Jenkins
“I've known Chaz for a long time. I think the first time I met Chaz was when he was 10 years old and then I had an opportunity to coach him for a couple of years. His competitive spirit and left foot are going to allow him the opportunity to compete for playing time immediately.”
 
 
JORDAN KOLLARS
Midfielder, 5-10, 160, Silverdale, Wash. (Central Kitsap HS/WestSound FC)
 
Jordan Kollars currently plays club soccer at the Seattle Sounders Academy. He participated in the Olympic Development Program in 2010. Kollars compiled 13 goals and 18 assists his junior season at Central Kitsap High School after an eight-goal, 11-assist sophomore season. He was a second-team Class 4A All-Washington state selection last year after leading his prep squad to the state final. Kollars is a three-time All-Narrows League honoree. He is a three-star recruit in the rankings produced by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Kollars has an impressive 3.96 grade point average.
 
Coach Collings on Jordan Kollars
“We're really excited about Jordan and his development over the past couple of years. We expect Jordan to earn some playing time in the center midfield as a freshman. His vision, passing, and movement are very good. He will help provide some stability and rhythm to our play in the middle of the field.”
 
 
STEPHEN MacDONALD
Forward, 6-2, 180, Phoenix, Ariz. (Sandra Day O'Connor/SC del Sol)
 
Stephen MacDonald amassed 23 goals in 19 games during his senior season at Sandra Day O'Connor High School. That is the same school that produced current Seattle Pacific freshman midfielder Danny Olivas. MacDonald is a standout club performer for the SC del Sol, which was the state league champion in 2012. He boasts a 3.58 grade point average.
 
Coach Collings on Stephen MacDonald
“He's going to help replace some of the scoring that we lost. Stephen has good size, strength and speed. His tactical understanding of the game and his runs off the ball continue to improve. Most importantly, forwards need to score goals and he has demonstrated an ability to do that at every level he's played.”
 
 
JORDAN THOMPSON
Forward, 5-8, 150, Bellevue, Wash. (Newport HS/Eastside FC)
 
Jordan Thompson currently plays under Coach Dan Strom at Eastside FC. He was a member of the Sounders Academy squad in 2011 and participated in the Olympic Development program from 2008-10. Thompson is a three-star recruit in the rankings produced by TopDrawerSoccer.com. He received the KingCo Class 4A Most Valuable Player award after amassing 25 goals and three assists during his junior season at Newport High School. Thompson garnered all-state prep honors in 2012.
 
Coach Collings on Jordan Thompson
“Jordan is a dynamic goal scorer. His pace up top will help us stretch teams and will create more space in the midfield to play. In addition he's very comfortable on the ball and has a lot of confidence in a one-v-one situation. It will be fun to see J.T. score a lot of goals for SPU.”