Men’s soccer will add five freshmen and one transfer to its roster for the 2014-15 season, head coach Craig Jones announced Friday.
The newcomers are a mix of international students and prospects from the D.C. area.
The team has added three center midfielders: Bowie, Md. native Koby Osei-Wusu, Alex Conning, from London, and Old Dominion University transfer Oliver De Thier, from Great Falls, Va.
San Pedro Garza Garcia native and IMG Academy graduate Santiago Ardila will play as a midfielder, and the team has also recruited Pembury, England’s Christian Lawal as a right back. Ismail Lapp-Kamara, from Silver Spring, Md., will play center back.
“All of our incoming guys have been successful at the youth level both on the field and off, fitting the mold for the type of student-athlete we want to bring to GW,” Jones said in a release. “On the field, as we continue to build the program, I feel our current recruiting class adds depth and healthy competition for our starting spots next fall in all areas on the field.”
Jones said each of the newcomers will vie for playing time, and Conning, Lapp-Kamara and Lawal are the top contenders for a starting spot. The midfielder-heavy roster may force some players to different positions if they want playing time.
Last fall, the Colonials missed out on the postseason for the second-straight year after losing their last four games to finish the season 5-10-2 (2-4-2 Atlantic-10), one game shy of the playoffs.
That disappointment came after draws in games against the league’s top teams, Dayton and Saint Louis, to open conference play, which turned the season into a story about a GW team that failed to reach its potential.
The team is looking to replace five seniors who graduated in May, including defensemen Abdul Shaban and Alex Sandland, midfielder Bailey Hinners and forwards Francisco Solorzano and Tyler Ranalli. Ranalli was the team’s leading scorer with six goals and Hinners’ was an explosive, often emotional, workhorse who led the team with 1,345 minutes played.