Posted: Aug 04, 2022
NEWARK, Del. - - The 2022 preseason will feature a multitude of new faces for the Wilmington University men's soccer team, as head coach Nick Papanicolas welcomes 14 new student-athletes as a part of his 2022 recruiting class. This year's class has five incoming freshmen and nine transfers, hailing from nine countries, including five different states in the United States.
Please welcome the 2022 WilmU Men's Soccer signings (in alphabetical order):
Incoming Freshmen
Sean Daly:
- Hometown: Swedesboro, N.J.
- High School: Kingsway Regional
- Year: Freshman
- Position: Midfield
- Club Team: Kingsway Premier
- Other: Was named the 2021 Tri-County Conference Player of the Year and earned the Kingsway Regional HS Soccer Golden Boot Award after leading his team with 12 goals and 14 assists. He helped led the team to the Tri-County Conference Championships in 2020 and 2021 and was a 2021 South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Coaches Cup Finalist and Sectional State Semifinalist. The three-year letterwinner was a 2021 South Jersey Times All-Area player and a Third Team All-State for Group 4.
Zach Fantine:
- Hometown: Bear, Delaware
- High School: St. George's Tech
- Year: Freshman
- Position: outside back
- Club Team: Sporting Delaware
- Other: Was named the Blue Hen Flight A Conference Player of the Year and was a Delaware Top XI, ranked as the No. 2 player in the State as a senior. He was also named to the Delaware Top XI as a junior in 2020, ranking fifth in the state. He helped lead his club to a second place finish in both the 2021 and 2022 Jefferson Cups.
Will Harrison:
- Hometown: Chester, England
- High School: Christleton High School
- Year: Freshman
- Position: Center Back
- Club Team: Christleton FC (2021-2022), Chester FC (2019-2021), Everton FC (2008-1019)
- Other: Helped lead his Cheshire School Boys team to the semifinals of the All-County Cup and the quarterfinals of the High School National Cup. Made his first-team debut for Chester FC in August 2019 at the age of 16. Trained with the first-team players are Chester FC for two years. Helped lead his team to the National League Cup Championship in 2021.
Osiel Robledo
- Hometown: Houston, Texas
- High School: Eisenhower High School
- Year: Freshman
- Position: Central Midfield
- Club Team: Greenspoint Gunners
- Other:
Henrik Stokka
- Hometown: Sandnes Norway
- High School: Sandnes Vidergaendi Skole
- Year: Freshman
- Position: Outside Wing
- Club Team: Sndres ulf (5 years), Klepp (6 months)
- Other: He had a season's best 15 goals in 2019 in high school. He helped lead his club team to a second place finish in the National U20 League in 2020. His teams also placed third in the Men's Fourth Division in 2019 and fourth overall in the National U18 League in 2018.
Transfers
Heejun An
- Hometown: Republic of Korea
- High School: Sorae High School
- Previous: Barton Community College and Casper College (Casper, Wyo.)
- Year: Junior
- Position: Defense
- Club Team:
- Other: Appeared in 13 games and made 10 starts at Casper College in 2021-22, scoring a goal as a defender. Helped lead the Casper team to a 10-6-1 overall record, including 7-2 in conference play.
Willie Jones
- Hometown: Sinkor, Liberia
- High School: William V.C. Tubman High School
- Previous: University of Liberia
- Year: Freshman
- Position: Wing
- Club Team: Samira FC
- Other: started Led his high school team with 10 goals in 12 games as a senior in Inter-School Sports Association League. Also helped his Samira FC team to back-to-back Community League National Playoffs.
Ameer Madden
- Hometown: Toronto, Canada
- High School: Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
- Previous: Northeastern State University (Tahlequah, Oklahoma)
- Year: Junior
- Position: Forward
- Club Team: FC Berlin
- Other: Named a three-year captain during his high school career. He helped lead his high school team to an unbeaten record in 18 games as a senior, winning both regional tournament and advancing to the OFSSA in June 2019. Led the team in goals and assists as a freshman. Scored 12 goals and had more than 20 assists in 16 games for his club team in the CSL L3. Scored two goals in 2020 at Northeastern State.
Bas Markus
- Hometown: Marum, The Netherlands
- High School: Noorderpoort Groningen
- Previous: Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, Ohio)
- Year: Sophomore
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Club Team: SV Marum
- Other: started 16 games in goal at Shawnee State in 2021, finishing with a 2.55 GAA and a .645 save percentage. Had two clean sheets on the year.
Joni Ndrenika
- Hometown: Olney, Md.
- High School: Sherwood, Md.
- Previous: Frostburg State University (Frostburg, Md.)
- Year: Junior
- Position: Defender
- Club Team: Baltimore Armour
- Other: Appeared in 17 games in two seasons at Frostburg State, making three starts. Four-year varsity letterwinner at Sherwood High School and was named a Montgomery County All-Star as a senior. He helped lead his team to a first place finish in the Montgomery County 4A-East Division as a senior captain.
Troy Paul
- Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
- High School: Olympic High School
- Previous: Newberry College (Newberry, S.C.)
- Year: Senior
- Position: Forward
- Club Team: Carolina Rapids Academy
- Other: Appeared in 12 games with 11 starts in 2021 at Newberry, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Led the Newberry Wolves with eight goals in 2019, finishing second on the team with 17 points.
Evan Stevely
- Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.
- High School: Bishop Kearney
- Previous: Finger Lakes Community College (Canandaigua, N.Y.)
- Year: Sophomore
- Position: Forward
- Club Team:
- Other: Appeared in 16 games with 14 starts in 2021 at Finger Lakes CC, finishing second on the team with 19 goals, six assists, for 44 points, which was also second in the conference. His 19 goals were the 5th most in FLCC history, finishing 3rd in the NJCAA.
Ryuga Uchigashima
- Hometown: Kumagaya, Japan
- High School: Aomori Yamada High School
- Previous: Southeastern Community College (Burlington, Iowa)
- Year: Sophomore
- Position: Midfield
- Club Team:
- Other: Helped lead his Blackhawks team to the spring 2021 NJCAA Division II National Championship with a 3-2 overtime win over CCBC Essex. Appeared in 23 games as a sophomore, scoring five goals and leading the team with 10 assists for 20 points. Also started in 16 of 20 games as a freshman, scoring three goals and three assists for nine points on their way to a National Championship.
Malcolm Young
- Hometown: Whangarei, New Zealand
- High School: Sacred Heart College Auckland
- Previous: Missouri Valley College (Marshall, Missouri)
- Year: Sophomore
- Position: Defense
- Club Team: Northern Rovers FC
- Other: Appeared in 18 games and made 11 starts on the back line as a freshman at Missouri Valley. He assisted on four goals in 2021 and contributed to eight shutouts as a team, leading to a trip to the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinals.