STORY BY ADAM ROGAN
The Men’s Soccer team has signed six new players to the squad for the 2015-2016 season. Head coach Sean Holmes made the announcement on Thursday, Feb. 19, excited about what these current high school seniors could contribute to the Bulldogs.
“All-around pretty good. All different positions. All very good students,” Holmes said about the new acquisitions.
One of the new players is Andrew Blalock of Overland Park, Kansas will become a new goalkeeper for the Bulldogs. He also played for the Sporting KC Academy club, with whom he has won two National U.S. Youth Futsal championships.
Ethan Bowman led his high school team, the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Cougars, in goals scored. This Kansan was named Midfielder of the Year in his conference and was chosen for first-team all-state.
Colton Page was selected to second-team all-state as a sophomore for Ankeny Centennial High School. He went on to lead the team in scoring the next year as a defender.
Alex Peterson hails from St. Cloud, Minnesota where he was a center midfielder for St. Cloud Cathedral High School. He scored 25 goals in his senior season and earned a spot on the all-area and all-conference teams. Peterson also was part of conference championship teams in both his junior and senior years.
On top of the six high school recruits, Drake will also welcome three transfer students to their squad.
Coach Holmes feels that these acquisitions are more future-minded, as all 11 starters are returning for next season.
“We’re looking for depth from our squad. We’re looking for guys who are good, but could be really good with time, dedication and hard work,” Holmes said. “We were very good at times last year. We’re hoping for another layer of a year of maturity … We’ll be starting upperclassman on almost every position on the field, and that’s how you win games.”
