A fresh defense for M. Soccer

More than half of the new men's soccer recruits, who represent eight different states, are defensive specialists. Last year's men's soccer team hailed from a total of seven states. But this year's incoming freshmen class alone eclipses that standard of diversity, as coach Rudy Fuller's 12 new recruits represent an impressive eight of the country's 50 states. "We work very hard to find the best student-athletes available, so that means traveling across the country all year around," Fuller said. "Recruiting is a very competitive arena right now, and we have to do our best to find guys that fit into our program that maybe others haven't seen." Diversity is not the only asset of Fuller's new recruiting class, however. These 12 freshmen will provide the Quakers with much-needed defensive help, as senior Ted Lehman and sophomore John Salvucci are Penn's only true returning defenders. "The strength of the class is in the back half of the field," Fuller said. And possibly the best defender coming in is Annandale, Va., native William Lee, who won two team MVP awards in high school and led his club team, the Washington Dips, to the the 1998 Virginia State Cup championship. Lee has also played in a tournament in Holland and was named All-District in his junior and senior years at Falls Church High School. The freshman defender names second year coach Fuller as one of the biggest draws in coming to Penn. "I really like Rudy," Lee said. "He was a big factor in my decision. I really like the fact that he showed he needed me." Fuller's presence also proved to be a draw for incoming freshmen Niko Vittas, Billy Libby and Alex Maasry -- all of whom played for the Fuller-coached Bethesda Alliance club team that won the Maryland State Cup in 1997. "Billy Libby and Maasry are strong and hard workers," said Penn senior Reggie Brown, who has played against them in a Maryland Under-23 League. "They come on and battle for 90 minutes." Maasry may have shown a hint of things to come earlier this summer, as he matched up with Brown at outside midfield in a game and scored two goals. Brown classifies Vittas, who was a four-year starter at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C, as more of an intellectual defender. "Niko's a smart player," Brown said. "He knows a lot about the game and shows leadership." Lee, Maasry, Libby and Vittas are all from around the Washington, D.C., area. But as the diversity of the recruiting class suggests, not all of Fuller's freshmen reside on the East Coast. In fact, two of Fuller's best finds, Eric Mandel and Nathan Kennedy, reside nearly 3,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon. Mandel and Kennedy both played on the FC Portland club team -- headed by 1996 U.S. Olympic men's soccer team coach Clive Charles -- which finished second at the 1997 National Championships. Mandel, who can play both midfield and defense, was named the 1998 Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon and made the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's All-Far West team. Mandel also captained the Oregon Olympic Development Program boys team and was twice named All-State. Midfielder Kennedy, meanwhile, was a four-year All-League player on his Wilson High School team and was named league MVP as a senior. Another of Fuller's recruits, defender Noah Stout, had every reason to go to Princeton. Stout lives in Princeton, N.J., and graduated from Princeton High School. He played for Tigers coach Jim Barlow's club team. And, to top it off, his father Jeff is an assistant soccer coach at Princeton. But Stout, who was named to the All-State team as a senior, still chose Penn. "The city really intrigued Noah," Fuller said. "He wanted to be in a more urban area." Four of the other five Penn recruits have played for an Olympic Development Program, including defenders Robb Jankura and Chris Kan of Virginia. Jankura, who was named All-State last season, has plenty of championship experience, as both his high school and club teams have won state championships. Kan, for his part, has twice earned All-Region and All-District honors and was named to the Washington Post All-Metropolitan team in his senior year. Nick Stoffel of Solana Beach, Calif., and Ryan Feeney from Honolulu, Hawaii, have also been on Olympic Development Program teams. Stoffel captained the La Jolla Nomads club team that twice won the California State Championship, while Feeney has earned six state championships between his high school and club teams. Delaware forward Justin Litterelle rounds out Fuller's recruiting class. The Tower Hill School graduate is a three-time All-State honoree and was twice named Conference Player of the Year. Overall, Fuller sees this class as one that will not only improve the Quakers' talent level, but will also help to harness Penn's existing talent. "The biggest difference between our team last fall and this fall is the competition day in and day out in training," Fuller said. "I think last fall our starting 11 didn't have to compete each and every day in training for their spot on the field. "This year it's going to be drastically different. There's going to be a tremendous amount of competition for not only the starting spots but the 18-man traveling roster." Fuller believes that as many as six or seven freshmen could get significant playing time this year, with a number of them vying for starting spots. Penn finished 4-11-1 last year, but lost only two seniors to graduation. With most of the team returning and a strong recruiting class to add to the team's depth, the Quakers cannot help but have raised expectations. "I don't want to say we're out to win an Ivy League championship after a season like last year," Brown said. "But it's in our sights."

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