UAlbany Men's Soccer Announces Nine Incoming Players for the 2008 Season

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. -- University at Albany head men’s soccer coach Johan Aarnio announced on Tuesday that the program has received commitments from nine incoming players for the 2008 season. The incoming class includes three transfers and six freshmen.

“We have recruited to add depth to our roster and affect the areas we fell short in last year,” Aarnio said. “With an incoming class of three recruited transfers and six recruited freshmen we have added experience and talent in both offense and defense to our group.”

The class is led by junior transfer Claudio Dantas, who joins the Great Danes from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo. A native of Deerfield Beach, Fla., Dantas was a two-time adidas Junior College Division I All-American and also earned consecutive All-South and Regional XVI honors in 2006 and 2007. Last season, Dantas led Jefferson to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament and was ranked eighth nationally in scoring with 27 goals and eight assists. He led the Vikings to consecutive Region XVI and Plains District championships. Dantas, a 5-foot-8 striker, was ranked fourth nationally in points as a freshman in 2006, scoring 28 goals and adding eight helpers.

Junior forward/midfielder William Vasquez joins the UAlbany program after two seasons at SUNY Delhi. In 2007, Vasquez was voted to the NSCAA adidas Junior College Division III All-America first team, as well as earning Division III All-East Regional and All-Region III honors. A native of Peeksill, N.Y., he was ranked ninth nationally in points, with 15 goals and eight assists.

Defensive midfielder Mike Peters comes to UAlbany from Hogeschool Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. A 6-foot-2 senior who hails from the town of Westervoort, Peters was a member of the senior first-team AVW’66 Arnhem Divisional Champions in 2007.

Leading the group of five freshmen is Lawrence Papaleo, a 6-foot-2 forward from Manlius, N.Y. Papaleo earned NSCAA all-state honors and was a member of the Syracuse Under-18 New York State West championship team. A high honor roll student at Christian Brothers Academy, Papaleo competed in the Red Bull High School Cup, presented by adidas, which brings together the top New York and New Jersey high school seniors.

Konner Julian McNamara comes to the program from Iona Catholic Central High School in Mississauga, Ontario. A 6-foot-2 defender, McNamara was a member of the Toronto Lynx 20-under Super-Y League finalist squad and was a two-time winner of the Ontario Cup with the Mississauga Falcons in 2005 and 2006. McNamara is the younger brother of UAlbany senior Taylor Mikael McNamara.

Jordan Zaprowski joins the Great Danes out of Clarence Central High School. A 5-foot-9 defender from Williamsville, N.Y., Zaprowski was a bronze medal winner at the 2007 Empire State Games with the Western Scholastic soccer team and was a member of the Delaware SC Internationals.

Aarnio continues to bring in high-performing international students, including Adrian Foncette, Bjorn Bekkers and Luuk Collou. Foncette, a 6-foot-2 goalkeeper, is a native of Arima, Trinidad and Tobago and was a member of the 2007 Under-23 national team. Foncette, who attended Fatima College High School, was also a member of the St. Ann’s Rangers Futbol Club. Bekkers is a 6-foot-2 forward/midfielder from Enschede, Netherlands. He was a member of the Senior First Team Sparta Enschede and attended Stedelijk Lyceum in Enschede. Collou also hails from Enschede, Netherlands and was a member of the Tubanters Enschede Senior First Team last year and attended ROC Twente.

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Hilco Beeks Sr. D Arnhem, Netherlands/Hogeschool Arnhem-Nijmegen

Bjorn Bekkers Fr. M/F Enschede, Netherlands/Stedelijk Lyceum

Luuk Collou Fr. M/F Enschede, Netherlands/ROC Twente

Claudio Dantes Jr. F Deerfield Beach, Fla./Jefferson College

Adrian Foncette Fr. GK Arima, Trinidad and Tobago/Fatima College HS

Konner Julian McNamara Fr. D Mississauga, Ontario/Iona Catholic Central

Lawrence Papaleo Fr. F Manlius, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy

Mike Peters Sr. D/M Westervoort, Netherlands/Hogeschool Apeldoorn

William Vasquez Jr. F/M Peekskill, N.Y./SUNY Delhi

Jordan Zaprowski Fr. D Williamsville, N.Y/Clarence